Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Incurabili
Label: ZARŠ Records
Released: 2014
Running time: 35:11
Rating: 3.5/5
Incurabili are definitely oddballs. Two guitarists, two vocalists. Plug six strings into the mains and the busted, raspy sonic »feast« can begin. Anything but underfed, yet seriously »dislocated«. Minimalism getting its citizenship papers. Most of the musicality in this whole story comes from the vocal interplay between the two musicians. So, welcome to the garage wastelands!
The opening, psychedelically seductive Have A Pick, built on pure bullseye minimalism and only given contrast by the vocal harmony added in the chorus, lays bare the duo’s musical bones in a heartbeat. It gets close to that vibe again later on the album in The More I Get, where a southern rock slide-guitar vibe brings a touch of glowing radiance into the hypnotic gloom. Bleak, morbid. Next comes the frenetic blues I’ll Stay Out of Trouble, whose spirit returns later in Her Hair is Everywhere, where we run into a lavish, droning voyage of »mental cracked-ness« that ends up in full-blown schizo punk blues excess. The slight galloping clip-clop in the »hooligan« Real Slow mixes rockabilly and country elements, while Judo Karate Aikido Kung Fu brings a welcome cynical, smart-ass deviation toward certain stock melodic moves that evoke the energy of Ramones.
C’Mon In will catch the ear of Johnny Cash fans, and Bob Dylan fans too (was that a harmonica I heard?). That feeling creeps in earlier on the album already, but this track leans on those associations most directly with the levers it pulls. It’s a peculiar satirical reflection on the world of rock ‘n’ roll stardom, or let’s rather say on its glitz and its misery.
For all the blackness, depression, ultimate tragedy and melancholy captured here, in the same breath there’s a famous dash of cynicism, even satire, which is a recognizable constant in the Slovenian alternative rock underground. Or, generally speaking, ever since Cankar’s days. The duo lets a bit more melody loose in Video Man. Even though this track too is totally raw and fades out completely matter-of-factly (like a live gig in the studio), just like all the other tracks on the record. As a demo in some other musical story, this track could easily have been the seed of a commercially successful hit.
Dissonance has always been the savior of the alternative pose. And in this case it works perfectly too. The element of dissonant droning is, in fact, essential. All of this of course makes sense in the story of the album »Fair Enough« and brings important substantive quirks that put Incurabili in their place in the Slovenian musical fabric of the alternative rock underground.
Even though »Fair Enough« is an out-and-out alternative rock pose of pure underground delight, over 35 minutes Incurabili serve up enough nicely varied doses of compositional deviation that the same pose can patiently carry an effective infusion of genre-blending into the body of the album. The interesting thing is that Incurabili don’t pay the slightest attention to sonic polish. Most bands would treat the tracks on this album as strict demos, or quickly recorded sketches of ideas that need a thorough upgrade in the later stages of production and arrangement. While listening you quickly notice that more than a few notes are »shot« wide, that a note or chord gets caught on the fret and doesn’t ring out cleanly, and it’s also questionable whether the two guitarists tune by ear at all. If they do, they do it in a real hurry. I hope the boys won’t hold the following thought against me, but, sadly, they can’t play guitar. Yet that criterion is not the right yardstick for the quality of the musical content when it comes to »Fair Enough«. In fact, they don’t need to know any more than they can play, because they make up for everything with insight into ideas, which is what counts. With the idea at hand they create a distinctive atmosphere that grabs your attention and pushes the listener’s logical, analytical side aside, while a cerebral, trip-oid moment steps into the foreground and takes you off into their musical world. And yes! That world works. Distinctive and inviting.
Lineup
Bruno Subiotto – vocals, guitar, harmonica
Niko Novak – vocals, guitar
Production
Incurabili
Tracklist
1. Have a Pick
2. I’ll Stay Out of Trouble
3. Real Slow
4. Judo Karate Aikido Kung Fu
5. The More I Get
6. Steve is Back
7. C’mon in
8. Video Man
9. Her Hair’s Everywhere
10. Pussy is OK
11. She’s Waiting
