Label: Self-released
Production: Staš Hrenič
Album length: 43.16 min
Release date: May 2015
Genre: Alternative Rock
Rating: 8.0 / 10
Le Serpentine from Kranj are a relatively young band, formed in 2013. Their studio debut »Ujemi val«, which came out this May, shows us a seriously ambitious young group with real creative drive, a whole pile of ideas that Le Serpentine know how to channel effectively into their own musical statement.
The twelve-track debut introduces a band devoted to alternative rock with a distinctly musical touch and a female voice front and center. It’s an album of compact songs with well-built verses and choruses and exemplary production. That production is inventive both when the band charges into bold, massive avalanches of sound (smeared guitar phrases) and when it favors acoustic, organic-sounding solutions. In the latter, the work of an active rhythm section also comes through, especially the effective use of space with vivid bass lines that dose out the sound with a dash of the desired »groove« too. The songs often play on an acoustic-distorted »duality«. That means building the atmosphere through a mostly semi-acoustic or acoustic verse towards a chorus that is, more often than not, backed by a wall of sound from boldly thrusting (distorted) guitar phrases (Summer Rain).
Even though Le Serpentine don’t uncover any musical revolution and, with a solid debut, mostly take a careful first step into their career, their arrival brings a nice and welcome shake-up to the Slovenian rock scene. They forge a predictable format of »harmless« alternative rock tunes, but what rules over it all is a well-developed sense for arrangements and the convincing effect of the chemistry that this quartet’s camaraderie builds through their interpretation and playing.
With its polished musical form and just the right tingly »schmaltz«, the album »Ujemi val« carries more than one single candidate that could also get heavy rotation on the radio waves. In a healthy musical climate, »Ujemi val« could be a nice addition to the Slovenian middle-of-the-road music scene, though on our turf it unfortunately doesn’t yet have a well-defined character of its own. Maybe one day radio editors will »catch the right wave« that the potential of this young and promising band from Kranj brings.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Adijo
2. Konkreten
3. Izklop
4. Summer Rain
5. Tekačica
6. Kam grejo?
7. Pero
8. Le spim
9. Bolero
10. Blue Moon
11. Ujemi val
12. Fen
Lineup:
Tjaša Teropšič – vocals
Žiga Jokić – guitar, backing vocals
Grga Jokić – bass guitar
Anže Kern – drums
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Leon Slabe – trumpet on track no. 8
