Author: Sandi Sadar Šoba
Artist: Nikki Louder
Label: Moonlee Records
Release: 2011
Duration: 36:43
Rating: 4.5/5
You can’t judge this one in a single go, or fill the page in advance with clichéd praise or pans – Our World Died Yesterday takes a bit more effort and time if you want to grasp everything on offer in the electrified layers of one of the noisiest releases of the year. Are Nikki Louder avant-garde bearers of noise? Maybe, but the garage rockers from Kamnik are, year after year, a more important factor in setting the quality bar for the Slovenian club scene, and they’re successfully sowing seeds well beyond the confines of a homeland that’s too narrow and not used to noise. For a band of this caliber, the underground of the home turf is simply too cramped and not open enough.
Since 2007, when vocalist and guitarist Blaž Sever and the brotherly duo of drummer Luka and bassist Peter Cerar first broke ground on making music, the young guns from Kamnik can boast a highly regarded EP, Silent Bird, the record Alain, I’m Sorry released two years ago, and now a brand-new carrier of chaotic noise, Our World Died Yesterday. A cathartic mix of Nirvana’s vision of punk, the passion of Sonic Youth and At The Drive in, and a decibel-fueled urge to drown out the entire world makes for a thoroughly unique foundation of tasty, sonically saturated rock. They might remind you of the golden age of the nineties, when musical nonconformists, now half forgotten, were carving up the world. The time was ripe for rock alternatives, the norms of what was allowed were being defiantly scrapped, and through the fairly benign notion of grunge and alternative, music was shaking off the trend-setting of pure forms – and beneath the seemingly shabby look of visual minimalism, the history of sonic experimentation was being written, and it’s still going.
The music of the nineties and late eighties is just the framework on which the contours of the new millennium are hung, in a stubbornly homegrown way. Nikki Louder are the Slovenian equivalent of those currents, and despite the gap in time, their musical expression is still very much current and fitting for today. This is revolt and an artistic attempt to serve you something fresh, even if it reminds you of something half forgotten – but watch out, Nikki Louder carry their own set of balls and a thoroughly independent identity, and they don’t imitate the past just for the sake of imitating!
Three studio releases are definitely a solid starting kit for taking Nikki Louder as a more credible force in the Slovenian musical sky, even though quantity is not always a guarantee of quality – more often than not the relationship runs the other way around. Still, after the full-length debut Alain, I’m Sorry, Nikki Louder have proven they’ve got more to say. The proof is the post-punk Our World Died Yesterday, a record of a special kind. Even stronger doses of noise sound anarchic, noisy and ragged at first glance, while the energetic outpourings of musical libido show that for an outstanding sound all you need is a well-tuned guitar, humming thick distortion, a mighty set of speakers and amps, and a head full of uncensored ideas. Nikki Louder are surrealists who, by compactly surrendering to their inner urges, weave an experimental veil of outstanding riffs and, at worst, merely very listenable thunder – and under the layers of squeals and crashing there’s an exceptionally tasty musical layer. Passion and the eruptive inventiveness of instinct spew out of the nine tracks. And the chemistry kicks in from the first moment of the escalating fever of Hyperchimp, followed by a string of outstanding songs like Hipsters, Elephant, the already thoroughly club-tested Yo Voy, the ode to the actress Audrey Horne, and, among the less noise-committed ones, undoubtedly the unpretentious balm for your soul – the closing track Quiet Buzz. There are as many contenders for the record’s biggest hit as there are songs on it, but instead of the fractals of individual tracks, what carries you onward on this half-hour flight on the wings of creativity is the whole, which stands firm and organically connected. Nikki Louder sound tight and fluidly linked, and the opening string of chords on Hyperchimp proves that in these two years the guys gave up the last speck of anything, if you like, commercial, while the hard-sounding orgasm sticks a huge plaster on the otherwise pretty bored soul of every fan of controversial aesthetics. Besides the classic CD, you also get the choice of classic vinyl, warmer and dear to collectors. Both carry the same set of devastating energy and unpretentious, aggressive primalism. For a perfect shot to the head you need a minimalist set of the most basic rhythms that don’t pound, don’t ramble and don’t drag on. The sound is devastating and cheekily, filthily sweet, suited both for savoring in installments and for downing in one go, and the record’s lyrics end in a perfect balance of darkness and light – besides deafness, you get simple and complete sonic penetration.
We never get tired of the apocalypse, do we? This time around, though, the end of the world shines in a decidedly non-R.E.M. way, a bit more gloomy and sinister. On their second full-length, Nikki Louder confirmed they’re a band worth keeping an eye on, and deserve more than just credit for a successful raid on your senses and brain synapses. With the sweat and blood of their DIY imperative, they’ve crafted a record that lets their star shine even brighter and prouder. The reasons: originality, effectiveness, defiance, energy, full-bloodedness and innovation in redefining the concept of the 21st-century garage. Without bloat, arrogance or pretentiousness, they get better year after year, and the empirical proof of a step up the ladder of personal growth is undoubtedly their best album so far – Our World Died Yesterday.
Lineup
Blaž Sever – guitar, vocals
Peter Cerar – bass guitar, keyboards
Luka Cerar – drums
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Gredoč – harmonium on the track Quiet Buzz
Production
Gredoč & Nikki Louder
Tracklist
1. Hyperchimp
2. Elephant
3. Hips Like Elvis
4. Hipsters
5. Oversized Sunglasses
6. Yo Voy
7. Audrey Horne
8. Attacked
9. Quiet Buzz
