Artist: Jinx
Label: Dallas Records
Release: 2010
Length: 43:03
Rating: 3.5/5
Jinx are a fascinating musical phenomenon that sprouted up on the soil of our southern neighbor, Croatia. If you want to know what Dixieland music would sound like, deftly woven into pop rhetoric and originating from the Balkan Peninsula, then Jinx are the real answer to that question. Or rather, the Croatian answer.
The comeback album “Na zapadu” (2007) put the band back in the Croatian musical “mainstream” and actually brought them a confirmed status that ranks them among the bigger names of the Croatian pop scene. It was followed by the logical release of the album “Live” in 2008. “Na Zapadu” gave the band a few hits, but at the same time it felt like, after a six-year break from recording, the band was cautiously tasting and feeling out the scene, hoping it would welcome them back with open arms. A successful first half, played with careful maneuvering.
None of this would have happened if Jinx weren’t a unit brewed from a pool of quality musicians, working together on a frequency of effective mutual awareness and led by the agile guitarist and engine of the band who goes by the stage name Coco Mosquito. With “Diskilend,” Jinx went one step further. With this album they finally defined their own artistic identity.
“Diksilend” is the embodiment of the values that the hot jazz of New Orleans gave us in the days of American Prohibition, slyly poured into pop rhetoric, guided and understood by the lazy, flirtatious crooning of a female voice. Even the instrumental section of the band is put together in the spirit of the old-school “mini dixie orchestras.” Charming bittersweet pop rhetoric! Sweet because of its general accessibility and easy appeal and bitter because of the melancholic yearning that comes from an organic mix of blues, “hot jazz” tricks, the marching stride of the horn section, “americana,” and you can even make out the seeds of ragtime.
Retro pop is a neat coinage that fits the stylistic character of the band. Jinx really do seem lost in time. They don’t bring a musical revolution, but with their presence on the scene, which “Diskilend” only deepens, they are a perfect oddity in the Croatian mainstream and, to a degree, a true mini musical attraction.
All the songs, from first to last, are marked by a warm, actively dynamic, organic sound. Even though the songs are an easy bite for the average listener, the sonic qualities and arrangements are a real little filigree masterpiece. Every instrument is clearly and distinctly audible. They coexist in a superbly established symbiosis that makes optimal use of the available spectrum of the soundscape. This layered communication between the building blocks of the instrumental side of the sound is also the biggest strength of this record. It’s a splendid charm, in keeping with the maxim: “How to offer an outdated sound so that you become current.”
Even though the style and sound are clearly set from the first track to the last and cling tightly to a single expressive form and vibe, the songs are still varied enough in their arrangements to keep the album flowing at a high dynamic level from the first second to the last.
As for the vocals, you can tell that Yaya is far from a top-tier singer, but she effectively makes up for many of those shortcomings with an innate feel for bringing to life the moods dictated by the lyrics. The expressive level the new songs reach with their arrangements is developed to the point that it could carry a considerably stronger, bolder, more erotic voice, one with extra range in strings of many moods, of Black origin, maybe even with a gospel” pedigree, and of course along with all that the use of English in the lyrics. In that respect, Jinx still have some room to grow. On the other hand, you wonder how much, with such compensation, Jinx would sacrifice their own musical identity, which “Diksilend” actually embodies, for the first time in the band’s career, very clearly and healthily. Yaya’s voice also has a vocal approach that effectively combines mischief, sarcasm, and irony in a single breath, and the use of Croatian in extremely clever lyrics with a strong message is a further compensation for the vocal limitations, which in turn opens the door for the band to conquer the Croatian mainstream. So it’s an optimized part of the Jinx story in every way, doing its job satisfactorily. Yaya’s vocals are further boosted by the backing vocals of singer Ivana Starčević, who from the “back line” adds extra intensity to the individual moods on the album.
“Diksilend” is the point where Jinx’s musical voice comes of age. It gives the “retro pop” label even more meaning and weight for the band, and with this album they carve out a clear, recognizable spot in the Croatian mainstream. Ten songs stand on equal footing, and in terms of quality, not a single one buckles. The album “Diksilend” is a superb manifesto of the band’s musical staying power, clearly signaling that they have finally defined and invented a recognizable sound with it. They’ll hold on to it while recording future releases, as the fundamental character reference of their own musical vocabulary.
Lineup
Yaya – vocals, backing vocals, kazoo
Coco Mosquito – guitar, tenor banjo, backing vocals
Mr. Goody – keyboards
Pavlica – trumpet
Kova – tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, mini moog
Mirko – trombone
Cvanci – bass guitar
Mr. Goody – drums, percussion
Production
Coco Mosquito
Tracklist
1. Da smo se voljeli manje
2. Klinci su u redu
3. Čuvaj me, ne daj me
4. Na zub su me uzeli, mama
5. Pravo
6. Dok smo bili bez kontrole
7. Mira mi daj
8. Barakuda
9. Mrs. Cool
10. Od danas do sutra
