Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Jacuzzy Krall
Label: Self-released
Release: 2015
Duration: 62:43
Rating: 4/5
Jacuzzy Krall, »Jakob Krall« to his friends, is yet another hugely gifted musical-poetic visionary, and he’s laying out his artistic mission with the studio debut »Jacuzzy Krall«. In the past he gathered experience working with Sausages, and later he played in Los Ventilos. Fourteen »fat« tracks, stuffed to the brim with punchy poetry as well as musical substance, give this artist a special place on the Slovenian music scene. In fact, they throw the doors wide open to mid-wave accessibility. Some of the tracks, with their mix of core-caustic content (which the guy spits out through rhythm and rhyme in his poetry) and compact musicality, are seriously compatible with radio rotation.
One of the key ways this album expresses itself is hip hop, and through it Jacuzzy Krall uncompromisingly takes on the delusions of the »civilized« world, the injustices done to the little guy, the quasi-moralism and the general kitsch of pretty talk we use to hide the real truth. The poetry is a story in its own right: lucid, sharp-tongued and teasing, it’s fully down-to-earth and an imprint of a genuine sense of the falseness of this brave new world.
For his studio debut, Jacuzzy Krall has gathered a wide palette of renowned Slovenian musicians, who have earned a respected and recognized spot in the amusement park of Slovenian music through what they’ve done before. The poetry, which Jacuzzy delivers with holy simplicity yet stunning honesty (get used to that »damn Ljubljana dialect« already), is deftly packaged in juicy musical content, built for the most part organically, with a bit of makeup in the form of programmed loops. The beefed-up bass lines claim a nice chunk of the available space in the arrangements, and with improvisation they create a richly funked-up groove across the album. The musical backing doesn’t skimp on jazz parallels, and Jacuzzy cunningly layers the songs with extra lines of backing vocals, mixed male and female, which color the arrangements and complement his dictates. In the choruses the guitar can growl more sharply and flirt with the metallic avalanche of the guitar phrases themselves. The choruses are mostly turned into melodic hooks that contrast sharply with the hip hop dictates of the verses. The density of the many sounds weaving through the background of Jacuzzy’s poetry is at times so colorful that it even occasionally stirs up a feeling of mild musical chaos, which works great, especially when you come face to face with the very core of the message in Jacuzzy’s not exactly rosy outlook. In places the atmosphere is deliberately saturated with theatrical touches too, including field recordings of sounds made by all kinds of animals.
The album »Jacuzzy Krall« never stops being fun, and it keeps the listener busy too, with its rich message full of tangible musical-poetic substance. And it keeps doing that even after multiple spins in the CD player. The multilayered musical approach, which this musical document captures more than convincingly, carries plenty of seeds for growth, and Jacuzzy Krall could pleasantly surprise us with them in the future. Of course, the precondition is a steady, strong lineup of backing musicians, plus the guy’s poetic inspiration. So the first, foundational step has been taken with plenty of quality.
Lineup
Jacuzzy Jakob Krall – vocals, guitar, programming
Miha Meglič – guitar
Andraž Mazi – guitar, lap steel on track no. 4
Martin Brecelj – guitar
Martin Janežič – Buco – drums
Boštjan Vajs – drums
Jaka Skočir – drums
Sergej Ranđelović – Runjoe – percussion, backing vocals
Bernard Pajk – bass guitar
Jani Hace – bass guitar
Klemen Krašnja – bass guitar
Katinka Dimkaroska – backing vocals
Mate Brodar – backing vocals
Jadranka Juras – backing vocals
Andreja Sonc – backing vocals
Lovro Ravbar – alto saxophone
Ljuben Dimkaroski- tidldibab (whistle)
Production
Jakob Krall
Track list
1. Pozitiv +
2. Hočem rečt
3. Ne vem kam naj grem
4. Zbud se
5. Tu sem
6. Sam da se ve da se ne ve
7. En korak več
8. Lažji kot misel
9. Ne razumem
10. Kdo sem
11. Nočna mora
12. Začetek in konec
13. Roke gor
14. Pozitiv –
