Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Low Peak Charlie
Label: Self-released
Released: 2012
Length: 44:07
Rating: 4.5/5
Low Peak Charlie are the Primorska region’s »groove nuts«. Being nuts is a good thing these days! This new, fresh, potent and musically challenging quartet blends metal, funk and reggae, throws hip hop on top, and no joke, the comparisons to a sort of distant Slovenian version of Rage Against The Machine are getting more than fitting (the closing section of Ostale same kosti teases you with the rhythm/riff groove vibe of R.A.T.M.’s hit Killing In The Name ). Given the effective chemical formula of a fusion that vividly dissolves genre boundaries, a firmly seductive, fluid and unbelievably energetic groove that sounds like the whole thing is sitting on a spring-loaded tarp, comparisons to Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Fath No More and Living Colour make sense too. As for the character traits of that kind of »cross-genre« hybridity, in the moments when the band cozies up to reggae and even brushes against a SKA vibe, it ties in naturally with the energy of yet another bunch of lads from Primorska: Slovenia’s Elvis Jackson (the songs »Hrosch« Kebr, Ajejmona). Those two bands, by the way, would make ideal partners for a joint tour. A European one, so we’re clear.
All the bands named in these comparisons share at least one trait that matters even more than their exceptional musical chops. Girls go massively wild for them. That’s why Low Peak Charlie have huge potential to grow into a big band that could soon step beyond Slovenian territory! Especially if they decide to try writing lyrics in English someday. Of course, it pays to cash in on that before they turn into old, ugly farts. If we look to Croatia (for Croats the rhythm of every genre, metal excepted, is usually a lot clearer than it is for Slovenes), you can find energetic parallels in the melos with another bunch of homegrown art-minded "misfits" whose starting style is incredibly hard to pin down thanks to that art »crossover« label. That’s the Rijeka band Father (the songs JZA, Ostale samo kosti, the S-lepota chorus).
Low Peak Charlie know their stuff. They know what they’re doing and they get the point of what they do. That means they’re carving out their own trail, standing independent on Slovenian soil, and you could say standing completely unique. They definitely don’t shy away from social criticism and political engagement in the lyrics, and it suits their style tremendously. In fact the two bond fatally, like love at first sight. The song Dol vas dam has big hit potential, since it combines homegrown energy with melodic catchiness, riff eruptions and superb »groove« chops, while still keeping its appeal for spinning on commercial radio frequencies all across Slovenia. And it’s not the only song on this album with that kind of potential. Take »Hrosch« kebr, with its happy fusion of reggae rhythms (verse), »funky groove« loops (verse) and rock riff volume (chorus), a title of exceptional catchiness that digs deep under your skin from the very first listen. Wound tight with funk, organic-sounding, vividly layered with extra percussion and peaking in a dreamy, melancholic chorus, Ajejmona relieves the high-octane voltage and conjures up extra contrast on the album among the songs, and as such further fans the high dynamics of how things unfold on the record.
Low Peak Charlie are no indie Bambis you can feed corn mush straight from your hand, littering the musical horizon with fake, fleeting acts with the help of corporations like MTV. Even though it sounds totally contradictory, it’s also spot on to admit that MTV could easily stomach the music of Low Peak Charlie, since it helped most of the bands cited in the first paragraph of this review grow into big names early on.
The music of Low Peak Charlie carries a nice dose of rage! Low Peak Charlie are angry, naughty, cheeky. They bare their teeth especially when the commanding vocal takes a full run-up, sparing no lung capacity or breath reserves. The vocal is the basic factor that lets the album »Kdo bo komu« land its message to full effect, genuine and organic, and in its honest, preacher-like jaggedness and undisguised sharpness it keeps genuinely unsettling any listener all the way through. The vocal can be soft and supple (Kebr), or jerkily explosive, with the real, well-honed charisma of an annoyingly grumbling address to the masses! Only that way can the band’s »groove« express itself fully. And it does.
In a state of general apathy, it’s downright fascinating that someone is still brave enough to point a finger at the injustices the little man suffers in the social hierarchy (really the basic pillar of that hierarchy). Dear Slovenian prime minister! Come to your senses and deliver us Slovenes with a nice, encouraging word so we can lift our heads up again. Let the Primorska bora wind called Low Peak Charlie properly ruffle whatever hair you’ve got left. Low Peak Charlie are a contagious revolt mirroring the state of today’s demoralized society, which in its unquenched lust for money has forgotten the norms of basic human values, healthy emotion and spiritual maturity, and doesn’t care that, like a virus, it’s irreversibly destroying itself.
Low Peak Charlie aren’t bringing a musical revolution to the planet, but they are exceptional, characterful oddballs of the Slovenian music scene with huge potential! And the debut “Kdo bo komu” is more than a vivid product of 12 songs with a clearly formed character, with which the band lays the cornerstone of healthy artistic growth, as well as mature starting points for commercial success down the road!
Lineup
Andrej Kresevič – vocals
Luka Križman – guitar
Lovro Velušček – bass guitar
Blaž Kocina – drums
GUEST MUSICIAN
Žiga Kožar – percussion, “skinner”
Production
Matej Pečaver – Pečo
Tracklist
1. Zidar Zidarju
2. Ostale samo kosti
3. Dol vas dam
4. Za en sam glas
5. S-lepota
6. “Hrosch” kebr
7. Ajejmona
8. Estrada
10. JZA
11. Disko Jebig
12. Where To Go
