Label: ZARŠ Records
Year of release: 2014
Production: Igor Vuk
Album length: 45.38
Genre: Dub / Art Rock
Cross the sacred Japanese reptilian “toothpick” Godzilla with dub and? You get Dubzilla. A hard-hitting quintet whose musical premise swears by dub and roots reggae as the foundation of its rhythms, while loading that rhythmic compound with all sorts of pastel shades from other genres, which culminates in a one-of-a-kind, homegrown originality.
“Dub Naturalis” is the band’s second album and digs deeper into the musical leads of the self-titled debut from 2011. Since the debut “Dubzilla”, with its inventive sharpness and sparkle, was seen as one of the most interesting and exciting studio “confessions” of the Slovenian rock underground (it earned all five stars on RockLine), expectations for what its successor “Dub Naturalis” would deliver were huge.
“Dub Naturalis” no longer brings the same “sweet shock” and surprises as the debut did, which means Dubzilla carved out their unmistakable identity on the Slovenian alternative rock scene right out of the gate. “Dub Naturalis” is still an album full of sarcastic metaphors, and Dubzilla are boundlessly lucid here too, peddling biting wisecracks while also acidly mirroring the modern findings of virology known as the “delusion of human civilization”. As expected, the tracks are again a bit longer. They unfold in a laid-back way and with great feel, which the band knows how to follow with a “disconnect” too. They rest on pronounced dub undulations and the kingdom of low-slung tones. All the tracks carry the word “dub” in their titles, tied to an adjective that sets the premise of the message. The only exception is Zmagovita dirka. A lucid yet socially critical concoction in which the recognizable, booze-cracked, roughly hollowed-out voice of Klemen Klemen doesn’t hold back his sharpened tongue. It turns out his famous “rhythmic sermon” approach works full-bloodedly with Dubzilla’s “musical multiplication table”. The album’s absolute outlier. Boundlessly lucid and fun. But in the final tally, the message stays brutally down to earth throughout.
“Dub Naturalis” is a more complexly conceived piece of work than the debut. Wonderfully lovable in its exploratory spirit is Dub Hunting Season, which keeps effectively changing form while holding together (it doesn’t fall apart). At the same time, the album gazes into even darker territory than the debut did. There’s sampling all over the place, trip-hop-style tricks of adding turntable recordings to the arrangement of the soundscapes, and both of these spices are woven throughout into tight curtains of guitar riffs and keyboards. The production is distinctly organic, warm, soft. Dubzilla build up the atmosphere in the tracks bit by bit. From one loop to the next of a chosen musical form (motif), they add sonic layer upon sonic layer, masterfully dramatizing and deepening the development of moods within the pieces. Despite the “twisting of sound”, the album keeps a strongly organic complexion. Thanks to the dominant keyboards, which draw on the traditional sounds of rock’s golden age, including the recognizable sound of a dulcimer. In places, with its post-rock repetitiveness, the album feels hypnotic too. It can whisk you off to a parallel world beyond the real (Nearness Dub). A world that is unique to Dubzilla. And that’s one of the core visions of the band’s creativity, which is full-bloodedly convincing throughout. One of their winning aces, which win you over instantly. Frenetic outbursts are almost nonexistent on the album. One is offered by the sampled schizophrenic screaming inside the “breakneck” section of The Great Dubiator (toward the end of the track).
With all its layers, despite the hypnotic gaze, the album is a tougher bone to gnaw on. That means Dubzilla count as a distinctly experimental instrumental band that knows no limits in surrendering to new musical dimensions with a daring spirit. “Zappa on dub”? The comparison isn’t even that out of place. Since the album breeds a bunch of jazz seeds, fans of acts like Medeski, Wood & Martin, or even the Beastie Boys in their instrumental varieties (the album “The Mix-Up”, 2007), have to check it out. If nothing else, Dubzilla share occasional similarities with those two acts in the use of keyboards, sampling tricks and a touch of avant-garde. For all the lucidity, though, Dubzilla of course keep room for a provocative dose of pornographic toilet humor (a little Zappa moment), which the closing “jab” Linda Love Dub embodies effectively.
I don’t want to ramble. The album is woven in many layers, carefully designed, detailed. With remarkable feel. There are no superfluous moves on it, and nothing is missing. Dubzilla are a chiseled art outfit who know exactly what they want to serve up when following their musical vision. With “Dub Naturalis” they deepen the reach of their originality and strengthen their position in the Slovenian music underground, which means Dubzilla count as one of the most brilliant and musically exciting bands around, full of unusual musical ideas and pranks, who keep thrilling with their tight, tangible substance. “Dub Naturalis” is an album you’ll be digging into for a long time. In its cerebral hypnosis it grabs you instantly, but in the composing, its complexity demands a lot more listening. And all of that richly rewards the listener in the grand total, because there isn’t a single moment on the album that steals the listener’s time! It’s clear you absolutely have to catch the band on concert stages too. In the company of a carefully rolled joint of your favorite herb.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
rating: 9.0 / 10
Tracklist:
1. Dublajkov
2. Kaly Dub
3.The Big Dubowski
4. Zmagovita dirka
5. Dub Hunting Season
6, The Great Dubiator
7. Nearness Dub
8. Linda Love Dub
Lineup:
Dejan Slak – keyboards, synthesizer, effects
Luka Švajger – guitar
Črt Zorko – bass guitar
Tomaž Rifelj – drums
Saša Serban – sampling, effects
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Klemen Klemen – vocals on track no. 4.
Simon Stojko Falk – scratch
Maša Slana – violin
Damir Jazbec – harmonica
Malala Tina Rakotorahalahy Serban – vocals
