Author: Urban Bolta
Artist: Top Stripper
Label: Self-released
Release: 2013
Runtime: 50:05
Rating: 3.5/5
Top Stripper? Who are they? Until a few months ago this Ljubljana band was practically unknown, but then in February they dropped their debut, played a launch show at Oto bar, and quickly carved out a spot for themselves in the hard rock underground scene at home, which has been more active than ever in recent years. You can’t find out much about them online. They rose from the ashes of Rockolution, which some of you probably remember from their frontman Jimmy’s appearance on one of those commercial TV talent shows. But a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then. Rockolutin fell apart, and a new lineup, Top Stripper, grew out of the wreckage. The guys are three or four years older and richer for some priceless experience, but even more welcome than the experience itself are their work ethic and (obviously) great team spirit, which in the young band’s relatively short life have paid off in the form of a debut titled »High Heels Avenue«.
Mini skirts, high heels, a whiskey in one hand and a pretty girl under the other arm – Top Stripper follow the hard rock debauchery philosophy of the eighties. What could be better than playing in Los Angeles to a packed room of half-naked girls and living the carefree life of a rock star, the five-piece ask throughout the album. Despite those seemingly overchewed themes, though, they don’t follow the typical California hard rock school sonically. The guys have spiced its scent with a pinch of blues. The resulting combination works like a hell of a tasty mix and sets the band apart from a heap of similar outfits on the sunny side of the Alps, whose sound doesn’t contain a shred of their own intellect and is stuck in a mold of generic glam rock. With their debut »High Heels Avenue«, Top Stripper prove that even though the genre has been done to death, it’s still possible to find your own place in the sun, at least as far as the Slovenian music scene goes. Their motto »The soul of blues, the heart of rock n’ roll« describes them damn well!
No doubt the guys spent their youth listening to hard rock giants like Guns N’ Roses and Mötley Crüe, which you can hear in their punchier tracks Girls and LA City. The opening riff of the latter in particular sneaks a resemblance to Sweet Child O’Mine (G n’ R) into your head. Lead guitarist Jure Demšar makes no secret of the fact that Slash is one of his musical idols. Still, most of the album is made up of somewhat more demanding compositions (as the average track length of five to six minutes already shows) that, with their interplay of vocal acrobatics and guitar backing, hit the nail right on the head! Gone With The Train has all the Top Stripper trademarks: a gala vocal performance by Jaša Šaban, a calm instrumental bed that sends your thoughts drifting to the endless prairies of the Wild West, and more energetic peaks where both guitars and the dynamic rhythm section hit the gas. Jaša is incredible! His vocals have powerful charisma, so he plays an extremely important role in the structural skeleton. In Gone With The Train and Cryin’ Over Love he even steps up as the central pillar of the compositions right from the openings, which is a very rare thing for a vocalist. Even David Coverdale himself, in his prime, wouldn’t be ashamed of Jaša’s vocal acrobatics and innate sense for laying verses over an instrumental backing! In their atmosphere-building and even a shy flirtation with the scent of the American South, Top Stripper are certainly children of the American school of rock, and thanks to the “ZZ Top-style” bluesy charm of the guitar playing they occasionally remind you strongly of the one-of-a-kind Cinderella (the era of the albums »Long Cold Winter« and »Heartbreak Station«), with the difference, of course, that they work with a lineup of raw rock instruments, no keyboards.
Two bonus tracks are added to a nicely rounded set of seven songs. The fully acoustic Daisy Darlin’ and Cold Comfort, in the manner of Mr. Big’s ballad To Be With You, were written with the clear aim of winning over women’s hearts (and other body parts), and the stripped-down arrangements once again push Jaša’s sophisticated sense of vocal interpretation to the front, this time with stronger backing vocals from the rest of the band.
The album’s weak point is its production. Granted, for a hard rock outfit Top Stripper put a huge amount of attention, at the expense of raw rock’n’roll grit, into gradually building atmosphere, but that’s still no excuse for their guitars sounding like innocent little bees. Sure, releasing an album is a project that takes money too, and a band at the start of its journey can hardly afford that, so you can’t blame them for the sloppy production, and even less for the album’s bare-bones look (in the literal, physical sense).
With the album »High Heels Avenue«, Top Stripper have proven that a creative approach can still produce something that sounds fresh and playful. Maybe not on a global scale, but in the Slovenian underground hard rock scene, their somewhat distinctive bluesy approach is definitely a pleasant change of pace. The guys are bursting with ideas, and chances are that with more experience they’ll turn their talent into even bigger career successes. As long as they stay the course.
Line-up
Jaša Šaban – vocals
Jure Demšar – lead guitar
Miha Majcen – drums, percussion
Rok Rožmanec – rhythm guitar
Rok Pavlin – bass guitar
Track list
1. Girls
2. Gone With The Train
3. Crazy Child
4. LA City
5. Hot Stripper
6. Cryin’ Over Love
7. Do You Think It’s Easy
8. Daisy Darlin’ (bonus)
9. Cold Comfort (bonus)
