Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Vagabunda
Label: Self-released
Released: 2016
Runtime: 32:00
Rating: 3.5/5
Behind the name Vagabunda hide two seasoned Slovenian musicians: Matevž Pavčnik (ex-Mit) and Jure Jurca (ex-Chaosstar). First and foremost, they’re guitarists, composers, arrangers and producers. In 2014 the two put out their first studio document, the EP »Away«. It features three bold originals played in the spirit of an acoustic duo, two folk guitars led by Jure’s vocals. The Vagabunda name has caught on nicely on the Slovenian music map, mostly thanks to the countless gigs the two have played in that very duo format. So we know Vagabunda first and foremost as an acoustic duo, and the released EP naturally echoed that.
So you’d expect the studio debut to pick up the story the EP started. Wrong. Judging by what »Open« brings, the link to the »Away« EP is still traceable, but with this new record the guys have jumped toward new artistic challenges on their evolving musical path. First, they brought an extra member into the fold, and with drums Vagabunda grew into a trio. Considering the musical background Jure and Matevž come from, the first shock of listening to »Open« wears off fast, because both of them once »burned« through electric guitars! And those guitars are exactly what they brought into the arrangements of most of the album’s tracks. What we have here is a hard rock album that, unlike the sweet, melodious landscapes of the naturally acoustic EP »Away«, serves up a hearty helping of rock’n’roll rowdiness (opener Bubbblegum), in places backed by pinches of bluesy kinetics and even attempts to evoke the feel of flirting with southern rock and surf (Broken Bone). Through the infectious, mischievous hard rock number My First Blues Xmas, Vagabunda also playfully nod to a touch of cabaret-style spoof theater (the verse hints at a mild inspiration from the Queen classic Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon).
And that’s not all. Jure has switched from a purely musical-style vocal approach to heavy use of a mid-range, manly delivery, firmly backed by a raspy, pleasantly fat and occasionally even rough timbre, which suits the stripped-down, straight-ahead hard rock of the songs perfectly. Jure could have used it across the board in the strictly acoustic At the Busstop too (it’s performed in the acoustic duo manner), where this vocal approach, used for color contrast in the mid-eight passage, works a treat. In that part of the song (where Jure comes in with a different tone of voice), Vagabunda allow themselves a motivic modulation, which effectively flips the mood of the track and brings in the necessary dynamics, against the proverbially general sonic limitation that comes with »unplugged« song formats. The album’s other full-blooded acoustic moment comes with closer For Lana, which, thanks to its typical chord progression, is, along with My First Blues Xmas, the quickest part of the album to win you over musically.
Over the years Jure’s voice has thickened and dropped lower. That makes his mid-range approach, with that added hoarseness, all the more appealing. It’s the higher vocal registers of the acoustic tracks, where Jure sings with a clean voice, that show a slightly strained vocal posture, so it might not hurt to adjust such parts in the future to better fit his range and deliver an even bigger expressive stamp in the performance.
On the album »Open« (the album title is spot-on and very meaningful), Jure and Matevž have really left things wide open. Compared to the material on the EP »Away«, they’ve signaled an evolutionary shift into hard rock territory, whose strength is that it works simply and directly, with no needless complications in the songwriting, and most importantly, it sounds like itself, distinctive enough that you can say Vagabunda have already managed to define their artistic identity with these first basic steps
Vagabunda know that in their case »holy simplicity« brings a winning poker hand of aces, and they stick to that rule diligently throughout. That’s why, thanks to the compact format, the songs also grab you energetically, and very quickly. As the album title says, the path of evolution stays open going forward. As a duo, Matevž and Jure have played many covers of world-famous artists who are miles apart from one another in genre and style. So Vagabunda are completely open to testing the waters of different genres, highly receptive, and with »Open« they actually suggest that, right from the starting points of their musical vision, they’re really striving for this free-spirited experimenting. Meanwhile, with the addition of a permanent bassist, the band has already grown into a quartet, which only confirms that it’s expanding (naturally) toward new artistic musical dimensions.
Vagabunda – My First Blues Xmas (official video):
Lineup
Jure “J.J.” Jurca – vocals, guitar
Matevž Pavčnik – guitar
Gregor Bregar – drums
Production
Matej Gobec
Track list
1. Bubblegum
2. Broken Bone
3. I Can See
4. At The Busstop
5. Compromise
6. My First Blues Xmas
7. Heart Goes Away
8. For Lana
