Author: Sandi Sadar Šoba
Artist: Dandelion Children
Label: Self-released
Release: 2013
Runtime: 51:12
Rating: 4.3/5
The Ljubljana trio Dandelion Children have been weighing on my conscience for a few years now, ever since they wandered into my field of view, but until recently I never took the time to dig into their musical essence. Maybe it’s laziness, or maybe just prejudice, the kind that says most of the local output is full of crap, but over the last few years I’ve rewired myself and changed my perception of both the domestic scene and the acts who defy the teeth of time and all the money troubles, the inflexible labels, the appetites of a spoiled, non-evolving audience, and who, in spite of all those homegrown cloacal abscesses, still manage to survive and, even better, to work normally, develop and grow. This Ljubljana trio is part of that parallel universe of the evolutionarily strong and capable. I remember them mostly for their provocative, subversive attitude, their grunge poses and a record with a self-ironic streak called Dandelion Children so pičke! And now the string of audio-visual provocations, and above all of good music, continues with a record that simply bears the name Dandelion Children. The music is unclean, dirty, and so damn sweetly dandelion-stoned that this sixth trip into the sonic waters of going off the grid is damn sweet indeed!
One more reason the Dandelion Children record works from the very first beat is that the production stamp on the new studio effort of this atypical garage trio comes from the sonic god (or demigod) of Srečna Mladina, the great Peter Dekleva. Of course, the lion’s share of the juiciness comes from the band’s more refined and fleshed-out core. After five records in an unbelievable five-year history, the albums Perfection Off, Perhaps Maybe, Dandelion Children Stole My Bike, Dandeloidu and Dandelion Children so pičke, the genre-schizophrenic band has been racking up mileage on concert stages on both sides of the border, and you can feel it in every chord of the sixth record. How many of our bands have successfully taken over the Exit stage in the last few years? Which is exactly why I dare say these two guys and the girl are a bunch of magnificent lunatics, in the good sense, just to be clear.
Dandelion Children opens with the dirty, bluesy grunge intro of Rock And Roll Has Got To Go, which grows nicely into Wooden Animal, where gorgeous keys sneak in next to a reversed guitar, and, crowned by Jure’s full, raspy grunge mumbling, it turns into something atypically checkered. Instead of Nirvana you now hear Led Zeppelin, the near-sitar lines of Kula Shaker and something even more potently old-school. I don’t think I need to stress too much that most of today’s new-wave music has no balls and no essence, so every adventurer devoted to music and full of ideas has to reach into the dustier archives of the past every once in a while. Dandelion Children obviously did just that, because even the song Never Handled calls to mind the legendary Neil Young (I’m thinking of the opening verses of Old Man), except the Dandelion Children like a bit more punch and distortion! And after a multi-voice chorus and a just-right salty peak with a short bridge, another turn arrives. Renewed is a hipster sentimental number full of pop, but despite the swerves, nothing feels forced or jarring. The record works so far like it was played in one go, with no breaks and no overthinking, Jure’s distorted fuzz bass, Anže’s guitar stripped of needless effects but so sweet, and Katja’s drums leading the ringmaster of pleasure in the right direction. Along the way even more dirt and extras sneak in. Feels Like Paradox, after an intro Eddie Vedder could have written, gets shot into the three-chord sphere of Nirvana, crowned with Plant-style vocal lines. Led Zepp Nirvana Pit? Sexy! And there’s nothing paradoxically questionable about that line of thinking. It works and it doesn’t stall. Not even when the song winds down into psychedelic harmonies, which show the sharp ear of Dekleva, who added a bit of Srečna Mladina’s swagger to the band. And here anything goes! Even Black Keys, Black Crowes, the Beatles and Fatboy Slim in the same bowl! Goaless Confession, after an intro that reminds me of Sargent Pepper, shifts into more straightforward garage waters, and the stoner vibe, unlike with the once-great QOTSA, doesn’t stall or get stuck in your throat like a big indigestible bone. The Dandelions then jump into slightly danceable punk-disco waters and for a moment or two even into reggae, and there’s some reserve left for surf rock too. That’s proven by the little number Middle Toe, a raised middle finger for all the purists who think they’ve figured everything out already! Are Dandelion Children playing the song To niso bobri? Almost, but definitely under the watchful eye of the virtuoso who cooked up the Bobri, breaded them and served them to all of us so provocatively sweetly … The Dandelions are dirtier, though, and lean more toward Dick Dale’s excessive waters!
Your Nothing is a somewhat heavier moment on the record, sneaking into the bright outlines as a reminder that without a grain of madness this Ljubljana tricycle simply wouldn’t roll! So far the album is functional, and there hasn’t been a single pointless filler! Perfect stoner-ish blasting, no two ways about it! And with Mutilator Comopensator the guys and the girl win me over for good! A building intro that grows into a punch, fit for rearranging your living room. Besides System Of A Down, the Dandelions have also fed on the seed of Scars On Broadway, and the punkoid blues is so damn pretty and tasty that I really want to check whether it works just as well live! Morning Grass is strategically placed here as a country calm-down. Even though they’re clueless about it, it’s set up really nicely, and the song sounds like country sung by Thom Yorke, the master of Radiohead. The phase shifts are frequent and so well seasoned that after Smitten, a stellar closing stretch of the record, critics and skeptics drop to their knees and beg for mercy, withdrawing their accusations that the Dandelions are full of shit and clichés! The punchy guitar sound hangs on full bass and drums, which under the blows of temperamental Katja work confidently and playfully. Foo Fighters-style! Perfect! Mr. Evaluator is then a trip into Josh Homme’s more excessive moments, and after the intro we’re all spinning again in disco rhythms crowned with grunge vocals. It’s as if Screaming Trees started collaborating with the funkadelic wizards of the seventies, and then we ride on horses, with hats, bows and rifles, toward the glowing sunset over the prairies of the Wild West. History Of Fail, with its dirty swagger, is meant as a sobering-up, and the parts are a bit too long to set it next to Mr. Bungle, Peeping Tom and the other offerings of Mike Patton, the man who rules over Ipecac Records and the heart of many an alternative fan … And after that the dandelion children dehydrate a monkey properly sick with Dehydrated Monkey, which adds some movie speeches, psychotic bass, guitars and drums, while the darker tone of more sinister shades hints that beneath the band’s seemingly carefree face you can also find a seed of darkness and Hell. The latter can also be less distorted and refined with flames, though the dandelion crew has no shortage of those! James Bond sneaks in in his sports car completely by accident, but the Dandelions much prefer flying through the stratosphere, with a vocal touch of the immortal musical Hair. It’s a matter of perception, but here I once again sense a bit of undertones from early Muse, and after the closing touch of The Beat (The Beat), it’s time for the sixth record to wrap up in style. After a break and a pause, it turns into a hip-hop hidden track that surprises with a lovely remix of sounds you’ve already heard.
So that you listen again to what you’ve heard and discover new contours you missed before. I’m not exaggerating when I write that with their sixth album the Dandelions have outdone themselves and set themselves a damn tough task for the future. An alternative progressive game of madness, inspiration and the (dis)allowed has proven that the Ljubljana dandelion children are ready to carry their lovely seed even further around the world. With Peter Dekleva’s help, Anže, Jure and Katja have built a monument marking five incredible years of musical existence and work, and all we can do is hope the momentum stays and keeps building. For the sake of raising the quality of Slovenian alternative music, of which the Dandelions are now part of the top tier. Entirely deserved and without needless, inflated flattery!
Lineup
Jure – vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards
Anže – guitar, bass, backing vocals
Katja – drums
Production
Peter Dekleva
Tracklist
01. Rock n’ roll has got to go
02. Wooden animal
03. Never handled
04. Renewed
05. Feels like paradox
06. Goalless confessions
07. Middle toe
08. Your nothing
09. Mutilator compensator
10. Morning grass
11. Smitten
12. Mr. Evaluator
13. History of fail
14. Dehydrated monkey
15. The beat (the beat)
