Artist: Dan D
Label: KifKif
Released: 2004
Years ago, Dan D were already considered one of the best Slovenian rock bands around, the kind who didn’t have to play only boozy student parties but earned their place among more serious music listeners too. Still, over all these years I’ve had the feeling they never managed to break the curse of “big fish in a small pond, nobody in the big city”.
And then they vanished completely and were almost impossible to catch live. Plenty of people talked about the band splitting up, and in the same breath mourned the loss of one of the most honest and genuine rock bands in Slovenia.
Well, Dan D have been busy all this time, writing and putting together material for a new record. They gave it a very fitting title, Katere barve je tvoj dan?, and it came out a good week ago. On top of that, the record was released through a Slovenian label giant, production was handled by rock-sound master Žare Pak, and it’s quite likely that with this record Dan D have stepped into a new spring.
The band is made up of Marko Turk on guitar, Andrej Zupančič on bass, the legendary Dušan Obradinovič on drums, Boštjan Grubar behind the keyboards, and the charismatic Tomislav Jovanović on guitar and, of course, vocals. Davor Klarič also left an unmistakable mark on the record!
All twelve tracks on the record are played in a fairly classic rock style, although it’s really hard to call it purely classic rock. The keyboards are very prominent in most of the songs, and alongside the many backing vocals we also hear a bunch of odd sounds that muddy the mix.
The sound is also very clean and polished in the production department, and in that respect it strongly reminds me of Siddharta and their second record Nord, even though drawing any parallels is impossible. The vocals are certainly one of the things that always set Dan D apart from many similar bands – but here the voice only rarely reaches its full power and color, because it’s too often distorted and, I’d even say, ruined.
Of course, it’s not all as black as it looks at first glance. The opener Plešeš will slowly become a hit, and surely a few more will join it. Oprostite, ne razumem boasts a really interesting solo section, and Čas is excellent. Catchy chorus, brilliant lyrics, a solid instrumental backbone.
Katere barve je tvoj dan? is full of guitar riffs and edge, and strongly recalls old Van Halen, but already on the next track, Le naprej, Dan D show up in a completely different light. A bit more melancholic, balladic, with a chorus that (sadly) reminds me of Nude.
Otroci sonca strikes me as one of the weaker tracks on the record, even though it opens with excellent guitar passages. Then, pretty soon, an English rap insert from Ujc kicks in and the whole song comes off as a desperate Limp Bizkit imitation.
Nina shows up on Roke z glasom, but the song strongly reminds me of Panda, Ti znaš calls to mind the forgotten Shyam, and on Iluzija Dan D finish things off by switching to Croatian. Overall, the record gets a little monotonous toward the end, and the listener increasingly gets the feeling they’ve heard it all somewhere before.
Dan D’s music in general reminded me a lot of the overlooked band Shyam, who likewise strove for a mature, musically accomplished form of rock but fell flat. Maybe times are different now, and maybe Dan D will finally pull it off?! They deserve a listen, because their lyrics are great and you’ll find something new and different in the music every time.
Dan D’s music is definitely not made for student parties. Their lyrics hide plenty of life truths and meaning, and the music is no monotonous grinding out of three chords with a predictable sequence of verses and choruses.
Lineup
Tomislav Jovanović – vocals, guitar
Marko Turk – guitar
Boštjan Grubar – keyboards
Andrej Zupančič – bass
Dušan Obradinovič – drums
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Davor Klarič – keyboards
Production
Žare Pak
Tracklist
01. Plešeš
02. Oprostite, ne razumem
03. Čas
04. Katere barve je tvoj dan?
05. Le naprej
06. Otroci sonca
07. Roke
08. Počasi
09. Sla
10. Voda
11. Ti znaš
12. Iluzija
