Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Olovni ples
Label: Croatia Records
Release: 2013
Rating: 4.5/5
Olovni ples (literally “Leaden Dance”) is a Croatian band from Dugo Selo. In less than a decade of existence they’ve released almost as many albums as they’ve been on the scene for years. The album »Nulti dan«, though, is actually a compilation. The band has apparently finally landed under the wing of the rock-solid label Croatia Records, which put out a similar compilation back in 2011. If »Sloboda« rounded up tracks from the first three albums, the current »Nulti dan« zooms in on a selection of material from the band’s last three studio albums: »Sutoni«, »Živog Sina tvoga« and »Ludilo«. Interestingly, the compilation puts the heaviest emphasis on »Živog Sina Tvog«, even though »Sutoni« is the most recent album, released in early 2013. But there’s one important catch. The booklet says: recorded in July 2013. In other words, every track on this compilation was re-recorded. And the sound production makes zero attempt to hide it! So anyone who doesn’t know the band could easily mistake this for a brand-new studio album.
Anyway. This compilation is first-rate proof that Olovni ples are an incredibly talented band with a determined, clear creative vision and sharp songwriting instincts, steadily developing a style and voice all their own. If the term “indie” fits any band, it’s the independent, self-made spirit and attitude of Olovni ples. The artistry this band cultivates is one of a kind. It melts together a few genre forms that love to turn up in the trendy sound and style of popular “alternative” acts, but it’s also clear that this is a band that first and foremost defends the freedom they’ve earned through sweat and calluses, so they can calmly keep developing and nurturing their own homegrown originality! That’s why it’s hard to find real musical parallels for them. Whether on Croatian soil or on the international scene.
In their songs the band cooks up a distinctive blend of “stoner-ish”, darker rock ‘n’ roll that shamelessly leans on elements of blues, boogie, even country folk. These guys have the true rocker’s swagger. You can feel their mojo! The songs are razor-focused as compositions. These are tight, minimalist pieces where not a single move feels superfluous, and each one clearly gets its message across. The songwriting profile of the compositions is exceptional, and it grabs you right away when you listen.
The driving rhythms mostly sit at mid-tempo, coquettishly solid in their foundation, boldly ramped up with organic-sounding but unmistakably rock-oiled guitar riffs. The band makes use of that “jangle” sound, and the use of semi-acoustic guitars, inherited from the days of the Yardbirds, is a given, while they often deliberately “soak” the sound in “reverb” and/or “stereo chorus” effects, which gives the sonic picture a special theatrical flavor (Ugašena svijeća carries almost a proper R.E.M.-style soundscape in the color of its guitar phrases). Despite the compact forms, which basically stem from the elemental nature of rock ‘n’ roll, you can’t miss the clear alternative undertone in the band’s music! The lyrics often slip into the character of naughty desperados, which comes through in the slightly rattling, country-flavored Nulti dan, Svi spavaju and Eli, while in the moments where the blues component dominates the arrangements, with its otherwise elemental riffing, you can feel the rapacious pull of doom and depravity in the erotically seductive Ti divna si.
Olovni ples can field two lead vocalists. This compilation doesn’t conjure that up quite as effectively, since most of the selected tracks feature the lead vocal of Tomislav Zorić. His voice is introverted, carrying that intellectual air of concealed, doomed rebellious defiance, while the other voice, the one on Mir svoj gubim, belonging to Stipe Periša, is extroverted, a raging mix of madness and pain. In the right moments, this approach evokes completely different emotions and, of course, the atmosphere each song is after.
The deeply intellectual side of the band’s rich message comes through not only in the juicy, expressive original poetry but also in two remarkably inventive musical settings of verses by other poets. Both are love songs. The first is the setting of the poem Eli, written by the Croatian poet Izidor Poljak and first printed in 1909, while the lyrics of Mir svoj gubim are the work of the Bulgarian poet Kiril Hristov.
The “less is more” axiom works optimally in the case of Olovni ples. Thanks to this smartly exploited musical minimalism in the compositional structures, the songs often slide into an almost sweet repetitiveness, which works in a intoxicating, hypnotic way, and that’s exactly why the band conjures up the desired emotions and passions all the more effectively. There’s nothing to take away from these songs and nothing to add. The production is wonderfully contrasted between the building blocks of the sound. Compactly filled with a tasteful dose of “reverb-drenched”, yet still clearly organically shimmering “jangle” guitars. If you don’t know Olovni ples, the compilation »Nulti dan« is a great way to get acquainted with a band that will surely surprise you in a big, positive way and win you over, heart and soul, with its homegrown originality.
Lineup
Tomislav Zorić – vocals, guitar, harmonica
Stipe Periša – vocals, guitar
Vjeran Pavlović – bass guitar
Bojan Rađenović – drums, percussion, backing vocals
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Katarina Kramer – vocals on track no. 3
Petra Kramer – vocals on track no. 3
Miloš Drobnjaković – keyboards on track no. 9
Production
Tomislav Zorič & Stipe Periša
Track list
1. Moja ljubavi
2. Isprat će kiša
3. Svi spavaju
4. Ugašena svijeća
5. Ti divna si
6. Daj mi malo vjere
7. Eli
8. Naš izbor
9. Nulti dan
10. Što sam ja tebi
11. Mir svoj gubim
