Jutδr bo moj

Bališ is a rock band from Carinthia, a real alternative lifeline for the Slovenian people who, after (ah, how I hate dragging up the recent past) the infamous Carinthian plebiscite, ended up outside the borders of their would-be homeland and who are condemned to nothing but the traditional cultural heritage of singing and listening to folk songs, born through the history of the Carinthian Slovenes either under the green linden tree, in the warm farmhouse parlor behind the stove, or in a sweat of toil behind the plow in the field, …

Okay, enough waffling. Bališ don’t do jokes. This is an exceptionally good rock band that burns through a properly erotic blend of rhythm and blues, rock’n’roll and boogie. There are three guitars delivering that proper worn-leather sound of rock music, plus a great vocalist who fires away the whole time with full-on balls. The band builds a hard, solid sound that keeps swaying in a passionate rhythm’n’blues drive.

The first track on their new studio album, their second, Dohtr, puvej, blows you straight back to the early seventies, to the likes of The Spencer Davis Group, but with modern, i.e. present-day, production of course. The guys obviously love the Rolling Stones more than The Beatles, so they artfully took on a cover of the Rolling Stones’ Honkey Tonk Blues, renamed in their authentic “Obir dialect” as Qolqr tolq vime. Has anyone else figured out that bands can basically be split into those who dig the Rolling Stones more, whose music usually rests on the classic elements of rock’n’roll, and on the other side those who favor The Beatles, who usually like to complicate things more and would rather splurge on notes and variety in rhythm (the end result can even be various versions of progressive rock)? Well, that’s put very sloppily, but it just popped into my head.

Yes, the guys in Bališ have nicely polished their verses in the Obir dialect, they swallow vowels beautifully, you can barely hear any sibilants or hushing sounds, and so the language is super melodic and fits tastefully into the Bališ rock expression. Through the vocals, the language often sounds like English on a casual first listen, “off the first ear”. Of course, all the credit goes to the singer’s refined feel, who convincingly proves that rock music is in his blood and obviously knows how to cunningly lay vocal lines over the verses. The cherry on top is of course the keyboards, which give every single track an extra classic rock coloring grown from the roots of the sixties and seventies! The title track in particular hits the bullseye, both in its sheer polish, the guitar solo flourishes and the excellent, heartfelt singing, and of course the impressive Hammond B3 lines. The fact that the band is perfectly in sync and breathes as one for the cause is proven by the phenomenal half-ballad N bo me več nazaj. The sound in it is once again damn heavy and real, carrying true pain born in the Mississippi delta. Ni več dnarja baby has that famous leaden “walking B.B. King blues beat drive”, and on top of that it’s adorned with an extra helping of harmonica.

So Bališ are a one-of-a-kind discovery on the music scene of planet Earth. Rock-polished “down to zero”, clearly focused and convincingly consistent in their expression. True classics grounded in rhythm&blues and rock’n’roll, who know how to build up a real adrenaline rush and a unique atmosphere blending passion, the eternal longing of broken hearts and the uncompromising rebelliousness of the naked in the saddle. You true rockers will realize right away that Bališ, with no detours, put your goosebumps straight into a properly erect, aroused state that won’t ease off anytime soon!