Label: Celinka
Release year: 2017
Production: Luka Čibej, Alen Bogataj & Aleš Golja
Album length: 50.44 min
Genre: Progressive Rock / Jazz Rock Fusion
Rating: 9.5/10
Divje jezero are a band like few others in Slovenia. In this day and age, of course. Along with Tolmin’s Feedback, these valiant Idrija lads are among the rare torchbearers of a now-archaic genre that hit its peak in the seventies, when Return to Forever, Wheather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra rode the wave of commercial success, while Billy Cobham, Jeff Beck and Herbie Hancock ruled the roost with their studio feats. Back in those distant seventies, we Slovenes also had a solid base of musicians drawn to this kind of music. There was Predmestje, there was Izvir. You could say Divje jezero, together with Feedback, are the rightful heirs of both Slovenian bands. Well, Ljubljana’s Moonlight Sky can sort of be lumped in here too, though with a strong ethno/world music element, which you rarely come across in Divje jezero (so far, anyway), if at all.
In just two years, »Pobeg iz blodnjaka« is already the band’s second studio album, and they haven’t changed a single member of the lineup in between. That’s a very good thing. On »Pobeg iz blodnjaka« too, Divje jezero stick to the tried-and-tested recipe that caught fire so thoroughly on their excellent debut, with one difference: »Pobeg iz blodnjaka« doesn’t roam between genres the way the debut did, but is far more focused and defined in style and sound (in terms of the band’s own progressing musical vision). You could say that on »Pobeg iz blodnjaka« Divje jezero have defined their artistic musical language even more clearly, and the result is an album of pure jazz-rock fusion revivalism.
The band delivers a new, outstanding tapestry of nine full-blooded, dynamic pieces. For all the sonic density their musical landscape paints, Divje jezero speak mostly in soft, pastel tones. That’s thanks above all to the pleasant, unpretentiously seasoned dialogue between the winds (clarinet, saxophone), the keys (electric piano) and the electric guitar. The guitar keeps a subtle, semi-acoustic organic sound, though more than once it isn’t shy of a heavily distorted tone either, which adds to the album’s rock side, even if the distorted phrases are tucked away in the production, hiding behind the keys and the wind arrangements rather than grabbing the sonic initiative and stepping into the foreground of the soundscape.
The leading motifs are riddled and interwoven with the superbly attractive work of the rhythm section, whose unbridled escapades add up to a deeply contemplative dialogue. The album is full of sudden jumps between the main rhythmic keys, and at the peak of their wild playing, Divje jezero always land deftly on the same wavelength of tight, seamless performance. The band is incredibly well-rehearsed, and what got them there was a long mileage of grinding, grinding and more grinding. The chemistry between the building blocks works flawlessly. So it’s no surprise that the band played »Pobeg iz blodnjaka« in the studio like a live gig and, as far as humanly possible, in a single take. Like back in the days when you had to save on recording tape. That is, in the days of analog recording.
The album embodies a strong element of spontaneity and unexpected turns, and Divje jezero respond to that in a progressive manner. Solo acrobatics from the keys, guitars and winds pass the initiative around deftly across the songs, and the improvisational form doesn’t loosen up or fragment the compositions too much. Besides the lively, versatile drumming, the bass guitar absolutely has to be singled out on this album. Its active, dynamic resonance produces a warm, organic color. The bass lines are played with exceptional softness and feeling, with a dynamic injection of highly musical aesthetics, which is anything but a walk in the park. These are complex structures that stay remarkably listenable, while the bass lines add the contrast needed and fill out the soundscape. In places it even rumbles with a funk groove (Žirafa).
Despite the lightness of the arrangements, which are always tied together by a red thread of structured clarity, all nine tracks deliver nine complete stories, clearly defined musical characters. In terms of ideas, these songs deliver a high level of expressive variety. On top of that, each track is built from multiple motif and rhythm shifts, and so offers an incredibly thrilling listening experience, because for all its complexity it keeps and nurtures a high level of musicality throughout, while a playful, high-spirited performing core, striving for technical flawlessness and performance perfection, sparkles through it constantly.
Divje jezero keep a cheerful, joyful spirit. Moments of nostalgic longing that would bring in a touch of wistful sentimentality are rare. One such moment is a passage in the composition of Marakeška tržnica, where a flash of neoclassicism sparkles through, the kind that gets more emphasis in progressive rock. The album carries no depressive or dark moments or feelings. The structures are, as already mentioned, sparklingly fun, optimistically lucid and playful in outlook, and you can easily feel the tremendous drive radiating from Divje jezero and their unbridled hunger to play. The guys simply enjoy what they do, and what they do is also what they’re best at (right now). With the top-notch music »Pobeg iz blodnjaka« is once again full of, it will thrill demanding listeners especially, and music connoisseurs in particular, who are hard to satisfy with their picky musical appetites. Believe me, there are no half measures and no mediocrity in Divje jezero’s music. This is a band that strives for perfection in sound and performance. And there’s one more very important thing. Divje jezero play with the passion of unbridled emotion and a sparkling, wholehearted devotion to the musical magic their hearts beat for. And with their second album, the excellent »Pobeg iz blodnjaka«, Divje jezero stay firmly in the saddle of their very own musical throne, one that hardly anyone in Slovenia (even slightly) resembles!
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Pobeg iz blodnjaka/Escape From the Maze
2. Milano
3. Jutranji ples/Morning dance
4. Noč in dan/Night & day
5. Mornarska zmeda/Sailor’s Mess
6. Žirafe/Giraffes
7. Vzemi si trenutek/Take a Moment
8. Marakeška tržnica/Marakesh Market
9. Ob pravem času/On Time
Line-up:
Alen Bogataj – bass guitar
Luka Čibej – drums, percussion
Aleš Golja – guitar
David Križaj – keyboards, accordion
Tomi Peljhan – saxophone, clarinet
