Label: Moonlee Records
Release date: June 4, 2021
Production: Uroš Milkić
Album length: 52.12 min
Genre: Indie Rock / Alter Pop / Art Rock
Rating: 9.5/10
“Pozivi u stranu” is the studio debut from Belgrade alternative rock quartet Koikoi, formed back in 2017. They’re yet another young, one-of-a-kind band that landed under the wing of the Slovenian indie label Moonlee Records totally out of the blue, when their demo recordings, just as unexpectedly, landed in the hands of the label’s A&R crew and blew them away on the spot. The rest is history.
Koikoi are alternative rockers with an art rock streak. That means they’ve got a distinct individuality of their own, to put it bluntly: they’re eclectic. Their compositions also build up a musicality that crawls straight into your ear. The songs are decked out in an indie pop and rock aesthetic that could storm the airwaves of any mainstream radio frequency at any moment, no sweat. If you’ve heard of DIIV, the American post-punk revivalist indie rock and pop outfit, then you’ll catch some artistic parallels with Koikoi right from the opener Ogledalo je zrcalo, and especially in the next track, Plan.
What’s interesting is that the vocals are often used as a male-female choir. The quartet loves leaning on choral dictates that set off deliberate repetitions, which gives the band a hugely atmospheric density and injects the songs’ expressive reach with a charisma all its own. A so-called “Balkan” charisma (e.g. Dodol, Hrast).
There’s no heavy philosophy here. Koikoi have an internalized, almost innate feel for building theatrical atmosphere. First and foremost, they’re devoted to creating grabby soundscapes that suck you into a world of their own, a dreamy, mildly transcendental world where sailing along with your consciousness switched off is exactly the idea. The band doesn’t shy away from decorating their arrangements with programmed sampling and looping, and they also slip in synth pastels with great skill and feeling. Right on their debut, the band proves they’ve got exceptional compositional talent for realizing a musical vision. Then there’s one of the album’s most interesting tracks, Misisipi, which keeps evolving. Gradually. In waves. It changes its shape every single moment and, in one place, does a more-than-decent job of presenting the band’s entire musical ID card. From hyperplastic bursts of foaming guitar phrases to moments where the fine craft of programmed looping takes center stage, with backing vocals coloring the background. Something similar is conjured up near the end by another wildly dynamic and interesting track, Hangar. Then there’s the track Krinolina, where the electronic side steps forward, borrowed from the likes of Chromatics, with an opening guitar flourish woven into the composition the same way Depeche Mode started doing with guitars from the album “Music For The Masses” onward. The band keeps pulling a pile of interesting artistic tricks out of their sleeves, and they pleasantly surprise the listener again and again. “Kada ostari dan” is the album’s peak, in its own way. Another theatrical track, accompanied by a feat of fine-tuned mood-building. It all builds into a superb closing crescendo that gives you goosebumps. The album’s theatrical finale pushes you to automatically hit “play” again the moment it ends.
In Koikoi’s musical ID card, the production is especially important. A refined production that manages to intensify the contrasts, the transitions, the leaps between the many moods created on the album. Contrast matters most when adding those short, punchy touches the band uses to beef up the arrangements. Uroš Milkić is a true master of sound engineering, and without him Koikoi would never sound as captivating and infectious as they do on their studio debut. An excellent studio debut.
Another band, a somewhat bigger one judging by past deeds, that gives the group some noticeable inspiration is Britain’s Radiohead. Especially in the more sophisticated passages, where programmed sampling enters into a dialogue with the softer pastels of guitar and bass. The band can be very soft, and in the next instant turn the atmosphere completely upside down. The rhythms are uniform and simple, inviting you to dance, yet they’re punchy and strongly emphasized in the production. They’re accompanied by a constant, contemplative dialogue of intensified bass lines that, among other things, look for room to implant a melody.
“Pozivi u stranu” is an excellent studio debut. Right out of the gate, Koikoi establish their artistic self-reliance, their individuality and a musical identity all their own, which not every band manages. An idea-packed, highly dynamic album. Not just in terms of ideas, but also in the production, which gives the album an organic liveliness. Koikoi are a band worth keeping an eye on in the future. With such a daring, I’d even say superb, debut in their pocket, expectations for the band’s next artistic moves are high. Alternative rock with the intelligence of massive artistic flexibility.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Ogledalo je zrcalo (03:49)
2. Plan (03:32)
3. Dodol (03:54)
4. Misisipi (04:41)
5. Pozivi u stranu (07:59)
6. Hrast (04:21)
7. One koje bole boje se i vole (04:21)
8. Hangar (03:31)
9. Krinolina (05:05)
10. Kada ostari dan (06:12)
Lineup:
Marko Grabež – vocals, guitar
Ivana Miljković – vocals, synthesizer, guitar
Emilija Đorđević – vocals, bass guitar
Ivan Pavlović ‘Gizmo’ – drums, sampling
