Self-released
Release year: 2009
Production: Divje jezero
Genre: Progressive Rock / Jazz Rock Fusion
Rating: 8.0/10
At the start of 2008, another band that identifies with genre-fusion music came into the world in Idrija: Divje jezero. This trio of up-and-coming musicians has stuck to instrumental music, and what we mostly get from them is a mix of jazz and rock, with plenty of funk, reggae and blues thrown in, though as they put it themselves, they don’t worry about genres and don’t let them box them in. In March 2009 they recorded their debut, which lays out their musical vision pretty clearly. The band recently added a keyboardist, who will surely bring another dimension to the band and the way they express themselves musically.
The debut has eight tracks, two of which are covers, reinterpreted through a jazz-rock fusion lens. You can pick up plenty of influences on the album, from jazz masters (Billy Cobham) as well as progressive and classic rockers (Rush, Yes). There’s no point trying to work out whether one camp outweighs the other, though it’s true the album has a slightly more rockin’ “finish”. You feel that right from the opener “2D”, where the heavier tones dominate, so the track would sooner land in progressive rock than jazz fusion. “Big Foot”, the successor to the two-dimensional opener, again takes a rock approach that’s still full of “groove” and jazzy guitar inserts. “Kapljica” steps away a bit from the “sameness” of the earlier tracks, since it’s somewhat slower, more melodic and cleaner than what came before and doesn’t hide behind a distorted sound. The intro even feels a little Zorn-like, if you know his albums “The Dreamers” or “O’o”. “Kobilca” also edges closer to jazz standards, especially with its fitting ambient playing, although the guitar still “burns” through rock licks. There are still parts that get repeated too often and wear thin after several listens. Next up is a cover of two cult cartoon themes, “Rozina”, which strings together versions of Pink Panther and The Adams Family. The interesting shift from one tune to the other and the jazz-rock flavor show a great interpretive ability to arrange and set music. “Mejour” goes back to the mediocrity of the first two tracks, where rock simplicity once again wins out over jazz complexity. “Groove” is extremely similar to the previous tracks, the distortion and the individual guitar bits are sadly nothing special, so “Mejour” gets lost among a heap of copies. That’s why “Šnita kruha” is such a pleasant surprise: it breaks the monotony and presents itself as a proper jazz fusion piece, fuller of creativity and bright ideas than its predecessors. An outstanding jazzy intro turns into an ethno track that blends splendidly with the distorted guitar. This time the musicians truly got what fusion is about, and the result is the musical high point of the record. The closing composition, “Jean Pierre”, the second cover, goes for a rock’n’roll take on Miles Davis’ original of the same name, with hints of country and “spacy” guitar effects in between that spice up yet another interesting interpretation.
“All in all”, as they say across the pond, this is more than a decent debut. The band is still searching for the right sound, and for now maybe still lacks a bit of creativity and ideas. The tracks are pretty similar to one another, with too much repetition of “riffs” and certain patterns from song to song. They do serve up some surprises, mainly “Šnita kruha” and the cover of “Jean Pierre”, but the trio definitely hasn’t reached its potential yet. Maybe the new keyboardist will add some variety, and either way it’ll be interesting to follow the next steps of the wild ones of the lake… Divje jezero.
Author: Tine Kolenik
Tracklist:
1. 2D
2. Big Foot
3. Kapljica
4. Kobilca
5. Rozina
6. Mejour
7. Šnita kruha
8. Jean Pierre
Lineup:
Aleš Golja – electric guitar
Alen Bogataj – bass guitar
Luka Čibej – drums, percussion
