Artist: Feedback
Label: Self-released
Release: 2008
Rating: 4.2/5
After a very good self-titled debut, Feedback are back with their second album, titled Od blizu. It comes out just a few months after the debut, though the first album was actually recorded much earlier. With their first record and their gigs, Feedback showed us that Slovenia plays good progressive rock, and with this second release they’ve taken their exceptional musical and songwriting skills even further and delivered a truly top-notch record.
You could say Feedback play progressive rock, but I’d struggle to pin them down as anything more specific than that, because their range of styles is pretty wide. The jazz-rock influence is obviously the most noticeable, but there’s a symphonic touch too, plus other styles like blues and, for the first time this round, even reggae (Ura pije čas).
The album once again packs in a heap of different musical styles, and Feedback more than succeed in turning them into a gorgeous mix. Once again we get bluesy jazz-rock in the style of Smak, then the record also has jazz with ethnic splashes, like on Leb i Sol. You can also feel a big Santana influence, both his rock and his jazz stuff. I might also mention the organ chops of Keith Emerson, whose influence is felt too (especially from his days with The Nice). There are quite a few influences, but luckily there’s still plenty of room for their own creativity, which these guys from the Slovenian Littoral certainly don’t lack. They’ve got a real musical heart, and you can hear it in the compositions. Feedback often switch between fast and slower sections, changing rhythm and time signature, but they do it all almost imperceptibly, and it never feels like showing off, just like a natural development of the song. It’s also great to hear that Feedback’s slower, quieter parts are interesting too, which I can’t say about many bands.
The album is once again flooded with warm sounds of Hammond organs and electric piano. Those two instruments sit somewhat in the background behind the guitar during live shows, but on the studio record they really stand out. Maybe in the future the keyboardist will add a few other instruments to his classic arsenal, like a Moog, clavinet, or Mellotron. But even if he doesn’t, no big deal. The main soloist on the record is the guitarist (how typical), whose lines quite often channel old masters like Santana or Vlatko Stefanovski. He has a tremendous feel for melodic soloing, and he’s not shy about showing it off. Andrej Maver already proved on the debut that he’s a drummer with real finesse who can play this kind of music, and he doesn’t disappoint this time either. Nothing is foreign to him, whether it’s gentle accompaniment to the other instruments or wild hammering on the skins. Last up is the new member, who isn’t even that new anymore, he just didn’t play on the first album. Andrej Klavžar is a bassist with a great sense of rhythm. I think adding a bassist to the lineup made the sound even stronger and even more majestic.
Od blizu is another step forward in Feedback’s development. The debut already hinted that the band is capable of great feats, and this time they’ve gone even further. The melodies are even more distinctive and singable, there’s even more energy, and even though they use nothing but vintage instruments, the music doesn’t sound dated. The instruments seem to be just part of their image, since there’s a lot of emotion in their music, and Feedback obviously associate emotional music with that era of the sixties and seventies, when Hammonds and electric pianos ruled, while instruments these days are increasingly sterile (just like the production). Feedback may indeed play vintage instruments, but their music is dynamic and fresh. Od blizu is an outstanding achievement from a band that’s already tirelessly working on its third album, and judging by what I’ve heard, I can say it’ll be good too and will hopefully continue the tradition of getting better with every album.
Lineup
Matej Magajne – guitar
Miloš Leban – organ, Rhodes
Andrej Maver – drums
Andrej Klavžar – bass guitar
Production
Feedback
Tracklist
1. Glasbeno kopito – 07:55
2. Ura pije čas – 05:24
3. Drobljenec – 03:48
4. Globina v plitvini – 08:37
5. Glasba je moj pajdaš – 03:32
6. Buri katerije – 05:23
7. Orbita – 10:48
8. Tordurtormoltor – 08:53
Running time: 55:50
