Author: Urban Bolta
Artist: Hladno pivo
Label: Croatia Records
Release: 1993
Length: 38.35
Rating: 5/5
In 1987, a new band with the simple name Hladno Pivo was born in the suburbs of Zagreb. The four original members went looking for their sound in new wave acts, a scene that was already in deep decline by then, and in international punk rock bands like the Ramones, Sex Pistols, and Dead Kennedys. In 1990 they put out a six-song audio cassette that was received far better than anyone expected and opened the doors to the music world, so that early on they already got the chance to play as a support act for established bands like KUD Idijoti and Zabranjeno Pušenje.
So Hladno Pivo were no longer total unknowns on the Croatian underground scene when, in early 1993, five years after the band formed, they released their debut, titled Džinovski. At first glance it’s a typical punk album, but it hides a lot more underneath. Nineteen songs in under 40 minutes means very short numbers, which is one of the hallmarks of punk anyway. Every member of the band at the time is credited as a songwriter, which shows a strong team spirit and, more importantly, captures a view of music from four different directions. The lyrics are by vocalist Mile, who was deeply influenced by the German punk school, as shown by the two German-language lyrics and their version of Für Immer Punk by the legendary German punks Die Goldenen Zitronen – who themselves had reworked the song Forever Young. The lyrics are socially tinged, simple, comical, and full of sarcasm. They talk about the misery of society and the small problems people run into in everyday life, all dressed up in punk clothes, so a few harsher words show up here and there. But this is definitely not pointless spitting at everything that moves, which is the stereotype and a common accusation against punk. Quite the opposite: despite the mostly negative lyrics, there’s a spirit of optimism about the future too.
Today Hladno Pivo is a big name, respected across the whole former Yugoslavia, but when Džinovski came out it was a different story. A nice proof of that is the songs Marihuana and Heroin, odes to forbidden things. Given how commercial they are today and how much influence they have on young people, they probably couldn’t get away with songs like that anymore. The album has two covers: the aforementioned Für Immer Punk and Buba Švabe, originally by English punks The Toy Dolls. Probably the best song on the album is Trening Za Umiranje, which is also the longest. It opens with the bass, joined by the drums, and only then the guitar and later the vocals come in. The chorus isn’t very pronounced, so it’s not the most typical Džinovski track. The only instrumental is the closing Outro.
The music is direct, no messing around. On this record Hladno Pivo play garage punk without mixing in other alternative genres, which is something their later studio releases are known for. The songs don’t have long intros; the vocals come in soon after the start. The rhythm section changes tempo often and fast, and the guitar keeps shifting too, so the songs are very colorful, in other words, a single song packs in several ideas. Even with just one guitar and no additional instruments, the sound is full the whole way through. Mile’s vocals are occasionally joined by the other members on the choruses.
With Džinovski, Hladno Pivo made a real splash on the Croatian punk scene, and the media started writing about them a lot too. Džinovski won the prestigious Porin award for Croatian rock album of the year, slowly but surely moving the garage punkers into the media’s daily life. The fact that the backbone of every Hladno Pivo gig is still made up of songs from this album shows that Džinovski is an absolute creative peak. The record’s unexpectedly huge success was followed by a tour of Croatia and Slovenia, and in 1994 they even had the honor of opening for their big idols, the Ramones. With their debut, Hladno Pivo set the bar high, and thanks to its huge influence on the development of punk culture in Croatia in the nineties, Džinovski is written in golden letters in the history of ex-Yu punk.
Lineup
Kekin Milan: vocals
Zoran Subošić: guitar
Martinović Tadija: bass
Subošić Mladen: drums
Production
Hladno Pivo
Tracklist
01. Pjevajte Nešto Ljubavno
02. Marija
03. Princeza
04. A Što Dalje…
05. Marihuana
06. Buba Švabe
07. Sarma
08. Für Immer Punk
09. Dobro Veče
10. Narcisoidni Psi
11. Marginalci
12. Zakaj Se Tak Oblačiš
13. Heroin
14. Trening Za Umiranje
15. Čelične Zavjese
16. Odjava Programa
17. Buntovnik
18. Niemals
19. Outro
