Author: Urban Bolta
Venue: Rock Cafe / Postojna
Concert date: 22.01.2010
Attendance: 0
Ticket price: free entry
After a three-week break and the New Year holidays, the Epic Rockline Contest is back at Postojna’s Rock Cafe. It’s the competition where young bands pick up some much-needed experience and get their names out there. If the previous nights were wrapped in a musical carpet of similar genres, this time the lineup was way more varied. That probably tangled up both the crowd and the expert jury, since picking a favorite out of such diverse competition can be an even tougher job.
UROŠ THE PLANINC GROUP
First up on stage were Uroš the Planinc Group, a lineup gathered around mastermind and guitarist Uroš Planinc. Worth mentioning: the Styrians were supposed to play the contest’s opening night back in the last calendar year, but had to cancel for health reasons. For the same reasons, Novo mesto alternative crew Kill Kenny dropped out over the weekend leading up to Thursday, and Uroš & co. filled the gap at the last minute. Really, a gutsy and noble move to jump in so suddenly, with zero planned prep.
Musically, they’re one of the most interesting bands in the whole competition, because they get their message across to the listener almost exclusively through their instruments, leaving very little room for vocals. The star of the show is of course Uroš, or rather his fingers, coaxing virtuoso sounds out of the guitar, while rhythm guitarist Tomaž steers the songs from start to finish. The tunes are super dynamic, jumping from calmer parts that just suck you in to much more playful moments where the two guitars edge toward ska rhythms. They even stomped on the gas pedal and showed with one song that heavy rock waters aren’t foreign to them either. In short, Uroš the Planinc group is a creative bunch, drawing their music from the blues and rock of past decades, with Jalen’s keyboards adding an extra layer to the sound. The keys aren’t necessarily set up opposite the guitar to trade solo salvos with it. Instead they’re built right into the structure of the tunes, so progressive patterns aren’t alien to them either. A great start to the night, only slightly spoiled by frontman Uroš’s needless over-the-top showmanship. Some of his moves would fit the repertoire of a strutting glam rock band better than the concept of a Styrian instrumental quintet.
SUPERBRANDS
After Eksodus failed to show up at the contest a month ago, Superbrands, Zagreb’s representatives of the young rock generation, won back the credibility of the Croatian rock scene. They’re completely different from the act before them. Their music flirts with the trendy indie rock sound of today, in the vein of The Strokes or Interpol. The quartet plays music made for a wider audience to enjoy, thanks to a calm rock flow with a slight touch of pop. The guitars can get very melodic, and the main magnet in Superbrands’ sound is an ear-friendly vocal. In the choruses, the peaks of their songs, it often turns into multi-part singing in the style of The Beatles. Superbrands have an excellent feel for writing songs where the instruments take turns being more or less present. The guitars keep shifting between leading the way and stepping back into the background to let the soulful vocal take center stage. They might be held back a bit by a lack of stage banter and charisma, but remember, this is a young band, and both can get better with regular gigging and more experience down the road.
BWASE NWAGE
The third and final band of the night brought yet another take on rock’n’roll to the Epic club. Up next were Bwase Nwage, a band based in not-so-distant Ilirska Bistrica. Despite their youth, you can already find a good dose of their own creative spirit. The Notranjska locals dig around in garage rock waters, but also like to veer onto the tracks of alternative and punk rawness. Inspired by the old Stooges school, Bwase Nwage woke up the crowd with a fast tempo and punchy rhythm and sent everyone’s heart rate climbing. The four-piece is uncompromising when it comes to thrashing their instruments. Their music is a blend of equal contributions from every instrument, from the expressive rhythm section to the often jerky guitar. They also know how to rein in the dominant rock’n’roll racket and play slower rhythms, and only then do they really convince the listener of why they exist. A unique stamp on Bwase Nwage’s sound is surely Nevč’s vocal, which hovers somewhere between goofing around and searching for the unheard. Despite the narrow frame of their expression and the simple structure of their original songs, the Bistrica lads know how to make it clear that playing is a real pleasure for them.
The confident performance of the last band put smiles on the faces of the (again) small crowd, who in the intimate atmosphere witnessed three completely different sides of rock’n’roll, so everyone could find something for themselves. In the end, it turned out the audience enjoyed Croatia’s Superbrands the most, while the expert jury was most convinced by Bwase Nwage, and the win went to Ilirska Bistrica (news about it here). If it keeps going like this, we’ve got plenty more great nights to look forward to!
Photos: Martin Prezelj
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