Self-released
Release date: 2016
Production: Igor Potočnik
Album length: 48.38 min
Genre: Art Pop / Rock
Rating: 9.0/10
“Stoletni ples” is an album that took a long time to make, and Panda went through no fewer than three singers while it was coming together. Still, the long stretch is justified by the quality behind the finished product. Given the famous, almost proverbial perfectionism of the legendary Andrej Pompe and his crew, that hardly comes as a surprise anymore. “Stoletni ples” is another superb release from this Slovenian art pop rock outfit, who are already legends in many ways.
“Stoletni ples” has a handful of seriously strong compositions that, as has long been the band’s habit in their mature years, are angling for love on the radio waves. The kind of songs, of course, that favor middle-of-the-road music. The band, which has “progressed” into a sextet in recent years (with permanent percussionist Vanja Vogrinčič), doesn’t budge an inch on the new album from its tried-and-tested recipe of musically infectious compositions that build to an atmospheric crescendo in seductively catchy choruses that hook you right off the bat. The new album embodies everything the band’s name has stood for from its beginnings in the mid-eighties to today, with a mature, evolutionary-artistic step into new times, of course. But the essence is still here, and it sounds like one thing: “Panda!” The punchy opener and one of the album’s strongest moments, Ljubimec brez imena, is a first-class teaser for any listener and effectively stirs up interest in the rest of the album’s musical substance. The first half of the record is incredibly strong overall, with carefully crafted arrangements in one song after another (Ljubimec brez imena, Noro (with probably the best chorus on the whole record), Stoletni ples, Kakšno sonce, kakšen dan), no dips in quality, and tracks that literally steal the spotlight from each other.
The new album gives the impression of flirting with Latin rhythms more intensely than its predecessors. A key building block behind that feel, that effect, is certainly percussionist Vanja Vogrinčič, who, in a subtly perceptible, harmonious dialogue with drummer Damjan Mulej, strengthens the rhythmic undercarriage of the songs and fills out the available sonic landscape. The ever-reliable Vlado Pirc keeps the bass organic, warm, softly supple and dynamic, adding melody wherever it’s needed, while Samo Pirc shows an incredible, many-layered “sculpted” quality: as a guitarist he’s featured on the album at least as much as Andrej Pomple on keyboards, and he has to keep adapting to the arrangement shifts the songs call for. The guitar deftly fills the passages with filigree-soft, carefully measured notes, where less is always more, holds the arrangements together and deepens the mood of the songs. The chief culprit behind the songwriting is of course maestro Pompe, who keeps all the wit and playfulness of the arrangements alive with colorful use of keyboards, and always leaves himself a little free space in the performance for exploratory fun.
Among the three singers showing off their vocal expression across the album’s eleven songs, you really can’t detect any major departures, either in the basic tone of the voice or in the approach to vocal delivery. It takes a slightly more attentive, sharper ear to tell them apart. Interestingly, the band chose not to re-record the tracks that were already done before Nina Bauman joined. The Panda guys were obviously perfectly happy with the results. That makes “Stoletni ples” come across as a much more authentic telling of the Panda story as it unfolded over the last five years, from the day work on the album began right up to its release. Despite the fact that a casual ear won’t immediately notice there are actually three different singers on the album, Nina Bauman’s performance gently takes the initiative and the lead, and not just because her voice is on six of the eleven songs. She wins you over with a special vocal softness that works intensely, especially in moments of soulful improvisation. I’m thinking above all of the calm centerpiece of the album, Grem svojo pot, so the band can rest easy and feel fulfilled with her for the next stretch of their career. Nina is a singer cut from the right cloth.
The band also tacked the track Kje je ta mož II onto the tail end of the album. It’s an older song that first found its place on the album “Urbanavantura” (2001). Its co-author is the band’s former singer Suzana Jeklic, who sings the original version. It’s an exceptionally strong track that, in a new and refreshed form under Nina’s vocal baton, closes “Stoletni ples” superbly.
Otherwise, on the new album Panda are once again a crew who, in their art-pop passion, masterfully throw a whole host of musical genres into the melting pot of their own particular musical culture. There are world-music elements, always clearly noticeable, a solid base of jazzy spices in the arrangements, moments of soul and blues, and of course passages where the guitar digs in harder with its phrases and the album consequently rocks out more decisively. The music is steeped in melancholic longing, the kind that grows out of the particular musical nature of Slovenia’s geographic roots.
The band once again works like a “mini-orchestra”, with the building blocks of the musical-sonic landscape spread out equally. In their dialogue, the instruments surrounding the vocals at the center of the action don’t play second fiddle to one another, but coexist patiently and peaceably throughout. They get along superbly and complement each other beautifully in the finely crafted arrangements.
“Stoletni ples” is a magnificent album from a mature band. It took a good while to make, but the payoff is an exceptional level of polish and refinement. That only proves that the members read each other brilliantly and understand each other in the arrangements. Experience and know-how, long years together and creative chemistry all helped. In these songs you can feel the band’s real power and their by now “folk-classic”, self-made confessional character.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Ljubimec brez imena (4:10)
2. Noro (4:11)
3. Stoletni ples (4:23)
4. Kakšno sonce, kakšen dan (3:33)
5. Premakni se k meni (4:14)
6. Sanje (3:21)
7. Morda (3:19)
8. Češnjev cvet (3:39)
9. Grem svojo pot (5:28)
10. Moj ljubi mir (4:08)
11. Hočem tja (3:27)
12. Kje je ta mož (4:56)
Line-up:
Nina Bauman – lead vocals (2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 12)
Saša Danilov – lead vocals (1, 4, 7)
Sara Petrovčič – lead vocals (5, 8, 11)
Andrej Pompe – keyboards, vocals
Vlado Pirc – bass, vocals
Samo Pirc – guitar
Damjan Mulej – drums
Vanja Vogrinčič – percussion
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Klemen Kotar – saxophone (10)
Vid Žgajner – trombone (10)
Miha Smrekar – trumpet (10)
