Label: ZKP RTV SLO
Release date: September 20, 2022
Production: Mirko Vuksanović & David Šuligoj
Album length: 49:09 min
Genre: Art Rock / Art Pop
Rating: 9.5/10
Avtomobili are rumbling again. On a night drive in a camper van, surrounded by the northern glow, the glow of the aurora borealis. They’ve got a new studio album in their pocket, after all. Brilliant. Brilliant once again. This time that opening verdict even matches the album title (Sijaj means “shine”). Since the album “Enakonočje” (2000), the gaps between the band’s new releases have stretched out considerably. Up to six years at a time. For the band’s devotees, wondering what they’re cooking up in that time becomes a near-daily mantra, and the curiosity gets downright manic. And for the loyal fan of this legendary band, one of the essential ones, you could say, which over 40 years of activity left an irreversible mark on the Slovenian mainstream (of the eighties and nineties), every new post-millennium album brings a very special kind of discovery.
“Sijaj” is an album that’s fundamentally different from anything Avtomobili have done so far. Put plainly, it’s got a high level of variety. Variety of ideas. There’s no shortage of astute experimenting with the untried this time either, even though Avtomobili basically stick to the well-tested recipe that guarantees their uniqueness. In 2022 the band has nothing left to prove. They’re famous for evergreen hits that the Slovenian audience will always listen to. Even when the world gets older still. For the new generations who keep rejuvenating it and, along with it, keep the evergreen status of this iconic band’s catalog alive.
And the renaissance, the rebirth, the new spring just keeps on going. All the music for the new album was written by Mirko Vuksanović, and the lyrics by Marko Vuksanović. The latter once again caresses us with his sensual, deeply felt, velvety vocal of striking charm and charisma, which remains, just like the elemental quality of Mirko’s songwriting, one of the core trademarks that have always put the figure and work of Avtomobili in a special place, not only in the Slovenian music scene but beyond it too. That endures, ripens and grows. Over the years. Evolution doesn’t stop with “Sijaj” either.
“Sijaj” is simple proof of that. An album that is “skillfully complicated.” The band’s artistry keeps its exceptional confessional character. “Sijaj” has a dozen tracks with which Avtomobili, in their usual way, go looking for the kindness, the favor, of the radio airwaves. But the new album surprises you already with the opener. That’s the track Čas je. Not because it’s a bit dark, since we’re used to that from Avtomobili, but because for Avtomobili’s range its sizable “edge” is rather surprising, and so is its speed: in the verse especially thanks to the dynamic effect of the added percussion, and in the chorus Bushy steps on the gas too. It’s certainly one of the fastest songs Avtomobili have written in their career. So Čas je is already addressing you with more rock rhetoric right from the start. “Sijaj” grabs you in a rock way. In general the new album gives the overall feeling that, compared to past work, the guitar loves to bloom out in a more rock direction. Bushy bursts out in some concrete solos several times (even jazz-rock ones, for instance in the outro of Vedno znova), and in his phrasing too. It also roars up rock-style in the contrasting chorus of Objel sem se (that track sits in the ideal spot to open side B of a vinyl record), and then again in the especially catchy chorus melody of Dovoli da.
A contrast in mood comes with Pridi na obalo, with its inviting chorus where the band deftly integrated saxophone arrangements (sax outro solo included), and it brings back that excellent art pop kinetics which the current lineup has been developing over the last three albums. It keeps holding that level time and again, with more playfully slipped-in jazz sentiment creeping in. Quite a few tracks on the album occupy that level of art pop rhetoric, which sits higher still given the band’s established (current) artistry across the albums “Pozna pomlad” (2012, RockLine review) and “Daleč” (2016, RockLine review). The album stays in that sphere as it goes on, addressing us with the songs: Nazaj v sanje, Vedno znova, Pust, Tako smo hodili and/or Zato ti želim with its especially melodic chorus (the latter catches a fleeting reggae breeze in the opening phrase of the verse). When we talk about potential singles and hits from the new album, we have to single out the excellent ballad Zaspi, where the verse nearly takes the lead over the chorus. With its presence, this ballad adds the extra appeal of shifting moods and pushes up the dynamics of the album’s progression.
One of the most interesting songs is certainly the third one, titled Ista pesem. It’s definitely something Avtomobili have rarely tried in their career, if ever. Phenomenal flows of harmonic melodies accompanying Marko’s lead vocal bring in the magnetism of mystery. The song has no classic rhythm; in fact it’s held together by the bass guitar, while David Morgan “gets a workout and blows up” behind the kit with colorful improvised bits, since the type of composition gives him a huge amount of room. Truth be told, the composition might well be considerably less interesting without David’s drumming maneuvers. As it is, quite the opposite: it even speaks to us with a progressive element. Avtomobili build an atmosphere here that comes across as mysterious, mystical, in a way solemn. The song keeps the listener gratefully busy also thanks to the contrasting integration of sax parts, and one more detour must not go unnoticed, the double bass solo.
Mystical and nostalgic Mir svetloba. Almost preacherly. It underlines the depth of Marko’s poetry. From sins to the cleansing of the soul. When you’re in a debate with yourself. With your own inner world. Calm, serene. It brings a brilliant contrast to the album. An exceptional mood latch. Near the end of the album. In a way full of longing and melancholy. This special song, I might say wonderful in every respect, reaches exceptional emotional intensity and grip. In itself it brings yet another hugely pleasing compositional detour and creative contrast to the album.
Gozdovi sanj, placed at the tail end of the album and labeled as a bonus track, has a whiff of blues in its opening form. The organ sound even brings a hint of psychedelia (the main motif, the chorus), even though the grip of the rhythm carries the song off to its own place. Even such an “experiment” by no means derails Avtomobili. They deftly absorb it and transform it into a one-of-a-kind dossier, the kind that only one band and one band alone can be known for. Avtomobili.
The percussion across “Sijaj” is once again intensified and adds an extra dimension to the rhythm, plus luxury and fullness to the overall sound picture. Percussionist Rok Škarabot, who also plays on this album, functions in this respect more than once as the sixth member of the band.
A review mustn’t get too long. It’s already mildly convoluted, and it has gotten too long in the meantime anyway. So let me sum up. The most “tempting” and artistically challenging album in the band’s long-lived career. Definitely. With that label, the comparison is mainly between the new album and the previous two. “Sijaj” is the younger brother of “Daleč” and “Pozna pomlad”, which comes down to the chemistry of the current five-piece lineup. At the same time, “Sijaj” is the well-known cousin of the band’s older creative era. You can sense in it the band’s primal spirit from the eighties. “Sijaj” brings some thrilling artistic adventurism in individual tracks, and the album also has more of a rock kick. It’s proof that Avtomobili simply enjoy creatively polishing the giant charm of their already clearly recognizable and uniquely seasoned bodywork. It stays splendidly polished. Avtomobili maintain musicality and accessible artistry, while spoiling us with the splendor of arrangement fine-tuning that never fades. It just ripens artistically. On and on. Through the years. Once you realize that a huge amount happens on the album, add the warm and organic production of a skillfully filled-out sound picture, with cunningly intensified contrasts between the individual building blocks of the sound. Everything is exactly where it needs to be. “Sijaj” nurtures, deepens and expands the expression of the previous two albums, while the connection to the vibe of this legendary band’s classic era stays clearly perceptible throughout. And when are we talking about a true art rock album? When it fills you with musicality that is accessible, yet that very accessibility demands attentive listening, where every time you uncover some new artistic subtlety, some detail. That’s the “arranging cunning” of musicians that comes with years of maturing! “Sijaj” is exactly that. Boys, keep shining with it!
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Čas je
2. Pridi na obalo
3. Ista pesem
4. Nazaj v sanje
5. Vedno znova
6. Zaspi
7. Objel sem se
8. Dovoli da
9. Pust
10. Zato ti želim
11. Tako smo hodili
12. Mir svetloba
13. Gozdovi sanj (bonus track)
Lineup:
Marko Vuksanović – vocals
Boštjan Andrejc ‘Bushy’ – electric guitar and acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Mirko Vuksanović – keyboards, backing vocals
David Šuligoj – bass guitar
David Morgan – drums
Guest musicians:
Rok Škarabot – percussion on tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13
Jani Šepetavc – tenor saxophone on tracks 2 and 3
Uroš Terbižan – double bass on track 3
