Label: Celinka
Release date: 16.04.2018
Production: Uroš Buh
Album length: 56.15
Genre: Singer / Songwriter / Art Rock
Three years ago, the pretty hard-hitting N3L project dropped its album »Natriletno kolobarjenje s praho«. Part of that project was Uroš Buh, the very same guy who’s showing up this year in a completely different musical setting. Expressively. Stylistically. Lyrically. Singer-songwriter-wise, too. To pull it off, he’s put together a proper crew of musicians who help him bring all his ideas to life. So the album “Buh”, the debut of Uroš Buh, or let’s just say the band Buh, is a very strong, tightly hewn piece of work, both musically and compositionally and in terms of its message (the poetry), loaded with tangible substance.
Good luck pinning a genre label on it, which just proves that Uroš Buh is a multilayered, finely carved musician who approaches ideas in a thoroughly genuine, honest and free-spirited way. No preconceptions. If an idea is good, he’ll set it to music and try to squeeze the maximum expressive punch out of it. You could call the album singer-songwriter, you could call it very radio-friendly, even though chasing radio love isn’t the point, which means that, given the shrewd musicality all around, the pop premise on the album is there but doesn’t push to the front. In the melodies, though, that premise speaks in a typically “Slovenian-geographic” way. Otherwise this is an art rock album that carries, in light and unpretentious compositional frames, even a few levers of psychedelia. The opener Lovim dež hints at that: in its lightness, resting on a simple compositional format, it opens up plenty of room for small, fine but clearly articulated touches of instrumental contrast, including space for Miha Erič’s harmonica (Prismojeni profesorji bluesa). Even though the intro doesn’t deliver the first big standout yet, it lays the principle of this record bare: from the first track to the last, it favors building intense moods and atmospheric contrasts, because the album speaks as a whole, totally unpretentiously, sweet-sounding, dreamy, cerebral, even mystical, and yes, you can add that it carries some inspiration borrowed from the famous “Floydian” esoterica, or from Gilmour’s solo albums. The song Mesto counts as one of the album’s “harder” and faster moments, with a pronounced rock phrase, yet still with the unbelievably infectious likability of compact songwriting, which radio will have to adopt slowly but surely.
Uroš, judging by the cover a passionate admirer of waterlogged quartz quarries, is a highly accomplished musician and vocalist. He’s got a versatile, convincingly colored and quality expressive character when it comes to interpreting the poetry, but what’s especially pleasing on the album is his instrumental contribution. Alongside the ever-present acoustic elements, there’s the warm, organically sounding integration of the semi-acoustic guitar, where the especially inventive use of decorative transitional ornaments and small solo impulses really impresses. With them he deftly fills out the compositional structures, gives them a touch of mysticism and, as mentioned, given the sweet-sounding ambience of the songs and the soft, refined rhythmic kinetics, a hint of psychedelia. Uroš has clearly listened to quite a bit of blues, and he must also be a big fan of the softness and subtlety of David Gilmour.
Buh is also very skilled at gradually building moods that slowly sail into a crescendo of the atmosphere he’s after. The most direct example of reaching such states on the album is the excellent Novi časi. In reaching and intensifying that, he very deftly trades on the thoughtful and refined integration of additional harmonic vocal lines that join the main vocal line in places. The album is full of small, short but refined touches, and in the song Senca srca Gombač’s foxtail saw fittingly joins in, nicely paired with Buh’s whistling. A thoroughly complete album that builds first and foremost on contrasting, intense feelings that carry the listener away. The last three songs are sung in English and sit at the tail end of the album precisely so they don’t shock the listener too much, since they deliver the album’s leap into a new energetic vibe. These three songs are also crafted with great commitment and a sheen of perfectionism. They’re sung very pleasingly, and in terms of vocal meter and accentuation they come across as convincingly Anglo-American. Keeping that credibility up even in the English part of the album only shows and confirms Uroš’s vast experience, gained over the years in the music business, which involuntarily calls up from the subconscious his work in the band Relight, too. The compositions don’t follow a completely predictable template of chord placement, but now and then surprise by tacking on unusual ones, which results in an interesting development of the melody itself, and such a song, musically speaking, then veers into the realm of the unexpected. E.g. Come Near is one of those, another is, say, and both songs are building blocks that, right at the tail end of the album, push up the share of alternative rock tones.
A dreamy-eyed art rock album that, completely unintentionally, carries some of that Lower Carniola breeze found on such Slovenian albums, and it will knock harder on the doors of those music souls who love the art rock touches of Bort Ross, Dan D, EPP (alias Erik Platon), Daniel Vezoja’s singer-songwriter album »Where the Light Resides«, even the older and more classic-rock-toned Drevored, as well as Jernej Zoran’s solo work. But let’s not forget to point out: “Buh” is a different kind of art rock story, with its own musical direction, its own energetic vibe and a recognizable musical character. At the same time, it’s stuffed with full-blooded, tangible creative perfectionism and refinement!
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
rating: 9.5 / 10
Tracklist:
1. Lovim dež
2. Mesto
3. Poleti
4. Jutri
5. Senca srca
6. Novi časi
7. Mislim nate
8. Lov na človeka
9. A Letter to Leni
10. Come Near
11. Fearless
Lineup:
Uroš Buh – guitar, vocals
Vid Drašler – drums
Jošt Drašler – bass guitar, vocals
Ambrož Božiček – rhodes, hammond
Metod Banko – acoustic guitar, vocals
Višnja Fičor – vocals
Miha Erič – harmonica
Julijan Erič – electric guitar
Boštjan Gombač – singing saw
Rok Šinkovec – piano accordion
Mario Babojelič – guitar
