Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Attic Mist
Label: Self-released
Released: 2016
Length: 15:37
Rating: 3/5
Attic Mist are young, promising rockers from Kranj who blend elements of hard rock and rock’n’roll into their musical story, with a pinch of blues rhetoric in the mix too. The whole thing has a retro sound. Attic Mist are hunting for their »vintage« pose.
Two years in, the band has finally put out its first official statement. In mid-September this year the EP »Just A Taste« came out. On it, the young hopefuls of Slovenia’s rock revival show off plenty of potency and youthful zeal, plus that mocking, rebellious streak that belongs on the ID card of the very mission behind the word rock’n’roll.
Simple riffs that talk straight to the listener, English throughout the verses, with proper metrics adding an extra dose of dynamics to the songs, and a flirty, tight groove rhythm section that also communicates effectively with the wall of riffs. The quintet has obviously tuned into the same frequency in how they express themselves, and they breathe as one when bringing their ideas to life.
Sadly, those ideas don’t have that note that would make the band radiate recognizability and tangible charisma right from the start. The EP brings no musical revelation, it reaches for tried-and-tested phrases from a distant past, so it’s essential that in the future the band cranks up the noise in the studio while recording. More fat tone in the guitars, even if that means stacking several guitars on top of each other. There’s still quite a bit of room to dress up the main guitar motifs with extra ornaments. E.g. the opener Taste doesn’t develop any of the predatory bite we expect from an opening track in a genre where retro-sounding hard rock and rock’n’roll minimalism shake hands until the chorus itself. So the arrangement still hides some untapped space
They say where there’s a will, there’s a way. The EP »Just A Taste« makes no secret of the fact that the guys and drummer(!) Zala have the talent to put together a track that stands credible in its arrangements and works across the board. The problem is the trap of being generic: on Slovenian soil alone there have been quite a few attempts at crossing the genres in question (mentioned above) that Attic Mist follow, and there are already bands on the scene that serve up the very same stuff far more convincingly for now (Top Stripper, Stray Train,…). In all fairness, and in Attic Mist’s defense, those bands also have a bit more gig mileage and experience.
Promising beginnings, then. Nothing we haven’t already tasted or heard, but still. It’s a wholehearted approach with which the band takes its first steps into the world of rock’n’roll and hard rock revivalism. You can feel the band is still very young, and you’ve got to start somewhere. So let’s give it time.
You can listen to the whole EP “Just A Taste” HERE!
Attic Mist – Taste:
Line-up
Timotej Jerman – vocals
Matevž Kovačič – guitar
Matija Veber – guitar
Amadei Šaršanski – bass guitar
Zala Janežič – drums
Production
Edin Biščić
Tracklist
1. Taste
2. Peach Loops
3. London
4. Rollercoaster
