Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Balladero
Label: Club Records
Released: 2016
Rating: 4/5
A lot has already been written about the talents of Prekmurje’s “wunderkind” Dominik Bagola. The man who laid the cornerstone of his solo singer-songwriter path with his studio debut »Club Deuce« (2012) quickly won over audiences abroad on the strength of its quality and, as some of you may know, played a series of club gigs across Germany, including a live appearance on Berlin’s Alex TV channel.
The expressive and emotional quality of that debut caught the ear of Uwe Bossert, among others, who’s known as a member of Reamonn and Stereolove. Uwe invited Dominik to record the new album at his studio in Munich and also helped arrange all the songs on it, with Uwe playing every guitar part himself.
The result is a more compactly formatted album, one with an even sharper artistic focus on its confessional vision, and one that at times feels more like a »band« record than a »singer-songwriter« one. Balladero pulled this off by building a solid crew around himself, like a classic backing band. On the debut »Club Deuce« there were plenty of guest musicians, so the team feel was more scattered. This time the album mostly features just four players: drums, bass and guitar, which together with his vocals and piano form the core of the new album’s confessional heart. As mentioned, the album feels artistically even more defined, and the songs sound even more focused as they follow a clearly laid-out arrangement and sound blueprint.
»Perfect You« doesn’t hide its trendy, up-to-date production tricks and touches either. Dominik Bagola’s piano remains an important building block of the musical dossier, but in the mix it’s no longer as prominent or exposed as it was on the debut. That space now goes to the guitar. The 10 tracks are musically polished, with memorable, melodic hooks, and as expected, Dominik carves out the room he needs to show off the full force of his signature vocal charisma, which gives the album as a whole that much-needed touch of distinctiveness and uniqueness.
The album »Perfect You« keeps the premise of its predecessor and is once again devoted to a dreamy, feeling-drenched cabaret rock with a hairdo of fashionable, current touches that at times flirt quite charmingly with the notion of »indie«. Still, you can’t deny it’s aiming for radio airwaves, which means it carries a clear pop orientation. Especially when you run into the catchy, melodic appeal of songs like Perfect View or the rousing, almost solemn Zlati časi – one of the few songs on the new album sung in Slovenian. The new songs also keep the familiar melody of melancholy and longing, carried over from the geographic roots Balladero comes from. Either way, the overall feeling is that »Perfect You« is more optimistic than its predecessor.
In terms of arrangement, »Perfect You« is an upgrade on an otherwise excellent studio debut, meaning the way it combines the elements of the accompaniment feels even more mature, detailed and optimal, and in this new atmospheric setting Dominik’s voice once again hits with great emotional power. »Perfect You« is a very pretty and remarkably bold record, easy to get into, and it makes no secret of its ambition to get more airplay on the radio. Besides its artistic uniqueness, the door is opened by a great flow of light melodies with a current sound, which could gradually win Balladero wider favor among listeners across the old European continent.
Balladero – Zlati časi (official video):
Lineup
Dominik Bagola – vocals, piano, keyboards, xylophone, accordion, flute
Uwe Bossert – guitar
Hubert Steiner – bass guitar
Sebastian “Seppl” Rotard – drums
Mirna Bogdanović – additional vocals
Production
Uwe Bossert
Tracklist
1. Ragged Inn
2. Perfect View
3. New State of Mind
4. Zlati časi
5. This Grace
6. Stargazer
7. Desert Trail
8. Sale La Vie
9. Le bdi
10. Last Tango
