Author: Sandi Sadar Šoba
Artist: Golliwog
Label: Chainsaw Records
Release: 2010
Length: 45:37
Rating: 4.6/5
Melodic punk HC was the music we swore our anarchic refusal to bow to the system, the oppressors, our parents and every conventional specimen of society on, back when I was twenty years younger. It was the nineties, a time marked first by Green Day, then Offspring and only after that NOFX, Pennywise, Lagwagon, SNFU and similar standard-bearers of the sharper side of the punk rock revival, and plenty of Slovenian music fanatics and lovers of revolt grabbed their slice of the pie too. Garage bands with all sorts of weird and more or less unknown names were being born in practically every hamlet, and out of that whole cavalry of short-lived enthusiasts, very few kept enough breath to make it past a couple of gigs. In 1998 the tectonics of revolt reached some young folks from Ribnica too, lads and a lass who took their name from a literary character by author Florence Kate Upton, Golliwog, a name closely tied to racism, discrimination and prejudice, and not because they’d endorse discrimination or agree with the worn-out division of the world into white, black, yellow or red – quite the opposite: so they could confidently and without mincing words settle accounts with all the sowers of hatred and dividing lines among those of us who bleed under the skin. Add a vegan streak, anti-corporate attitude, a socially critical stance and big doses of melodic, catchy, non-commercial HC, and you’re a stone’s throw from a band that leaves nothing to chance – Golliwog.
The Do it yourself imperative, or D.I.Y. mantra, has permeated the band down to the last fibre. Outraged by the injustice that pervades our small yet so divided, limited and feuding planet, they deliver, with an atypical, direct approach, hard-hitting guitars and a feminized, beautified lineup (lead vocals and guitar are served up without restraint or needless cosmetic prettifying of the truth through none other than the persona of the exceptional, dynamic and vital Saša Hrovatin, while the compact core of the band is completed by the vision and substance of resolute bassist Matej Oven, the precision of guitarist Vid Trdan and, after the departure of hard-hitting drummer Jure Pucelj (who recorded the album), now the exactness of Rok Henigman) some of the best that the punkoid side of Slovenia can offer at all. I’m all the more convinced of that after testing their exceptional chemistry in front of the stage more than once, and after the album More Than Meets D.I.Y. I finally got confirmation in the form of their second full-length masterpiece – the record Plague Allegiance. On it, Golliwog return to the tradition of intellectually motivated revolution, this time against the new world order of oligarchs who strive for the global fascization of the world and are ready to achieve obedience to the system by any means – by enslaving seemingly free individuals who build society, by poisoning and artificial selection of who gets to breed and who doesn’t, while through propaganda, the media, the internet and carefully planned principles of mind control they implant patterns by which you believe that nothing better can be achieved, or that you’re not even biologically entitled to it. The Orwellian »brave new world« is being forged by the architects of a couple of the world’s most influential families, and on the Freemason principle a new elite of modern-day world rulers is being enthroned, one that even Hitler didn’t dare dream of in his wet dreams about one Reich, one people and one leader. Golliwog pick precisely the latter as their opponent and target, and Plague Allegiance first knocks you flat with a booklet of more than 30 pages, in which they put practically every aspect of the modern-day usurpation by the Illuminati under the magnifying glass, those bringers of Satan’s dark light to the world according to their uniformed vision, and besides concentration and extermination camps, despair, hunger, hostility, fear and corporate »bullshit« are sown across the world on the financial, military and spiritual fronts alike. Nobody is safe and nobody is immune or exempt from this carefully orchestrated dance of destruction, nihilism and greed. Artificial needs, empty visions, aimlessness and dependence on the »saviors« of this deluded world are the proving ground on which Golliwog decide to pour out their rage, and this time the already much-trodden theme is woven with threads of homegrown know-how and aesthetic perfectionism. Unbowed even in defying trends, they keep their spines straight in a consistent fight for the rights of people as well as animals, offering their own, healthier alternatives to the corruptly rotten world of politics and finance, and with a clear call they urge us to shape and reshape our views of the world, so that a better, brighter tomorrow can even be possible. By pointing out the incorrigible idiocy of our supposedly advanced race of »thinking« beings, who evidently can’t fully give up violence, sexism, nationalism, racism, sectarianism, homophobia, mental pigeonholing and, out of dissatisfaction, the ever more frequent oppression of the weaker, the content of the album Plague Allegiance is damn full! The record is thus, in both content and aesthetics, at least two steps or levels above the competing fruits of punkoid purveyors on this side of the Atlantic as well as the other. But what about musically?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMhOEI4xAgA
Musically, Golliwog have sworn allegiance to the anarchically inspired yet still melodic branch of HC, where catchiness isn’t the main goal. Golliwog are raw, direct and unfeigned, and heavy guitar sounds glue beautifully onto the gallop of bass and drums, crowned by the vocal duplex of Saša’s and Matej’s voices. An exceptional opener with a short, hard kick in the balls that will undoubtedly wake you up, and with the song Mask Of Sanity Golliwog demand that the world’s dictators, usurpers and rapists take off their masks and show their true faces. Sped-up, speed-fueled HC rests on strong guitars that sound like one, and above the ultra-fast drums soars Saša’s vocal, while Matej’s bass is practically inaudible, and already with the song King Of Hearts Golliwog offer a bit more orderly chaos, melody, practically late-period Bad Religion aesthetic chord work on stimulants (or perfectly scuffed fast outpourings of brilliance from early, then still milk-toothed and unspoiled NOFX on Circle Jerks mental wavelengths). So how did Cali-punk in 2010 upgrade its predecessors? Despite today’s almost proverbially sharper and more crystal-clear production, not everyone has such a sharp and merciless expression when it comes to delivering their core and essence musically. Golliwog are brutally direct, and with multiple squirts of genius in under two minutes they can pour out much more potent melody, good, quality riffs and unfeigned lyrical concern over the state of the world than the many who go for nicely polished structures of catchy tunes right off the bat. Golliwog are unpolished, and beneath the raw structure hide those few grams of exceptionalness because of which you can’t overdose on or get sick of the record Plague Allegiance any time soon, if ever. Hits, or better, songs that will grab you, are many, starting with the exceptionally melodic treat King Of Hearts, which even has a bit of Maiden-style playing around with solos. Humor, as well as naive simplicity, isn’t lacking in this enlightening cannonade, in this thicket of riffs. After Hermit Crab the serotonin boost is secured by the simple Serotonin Fix, which hangs in the air like an interlude for 48 seconds, while the truly epic Deception Of A Frozen Heart takes things, on Queen-style melodics, to the metalized Valhalla of Cali-punk, and Golliwog show that besides swiftness they can also display a sense of complexity, suspense and build-up in their songs, only that this kind of metric isn’t the plateau they most often deliberately return to. Anti-Heroes thus goes back once more to the domain of sped-up HC gallop, a reckoning with all the self-proclaimed saviors who mislead the world and essentially sell death, destruction and slavery, and a loud »no« to usurpers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3QPZ-xKWhM
Lucid Fairytale Nightmares is undoubtedly one of the better-measured Cali-punk projectiles of testosterone-fueled adrenaline fun; multiple chord flips and playing with thirds on both guitars and vocals are spiced with a real play of lovely guitars on the bridge and even a declared outro solo, while Saša’s vocals enrich, with high pitch, probably the most thrilling moment of the record. No! The best track, at least for me, is the outstanding Solitary Confinement, where Matej’s well-tuned bass leaves its mark, along with lovely layered guitar frills. The sexy track calls for restoring the autarkic moment of self-control that we let slip out of our own hands; control over our happiness and contentment is held by others, the not exactly most merciful masters of the world. The track before the finale pleasantly surprises with an interlude of Weezer melancholy, and then comes a quick-fingered turn into the hard-hitting little number Blue On Blues, which keeps the metrics of early NOFX, and after integrating the inner cerebral circuits with the song Integrated Cerebral Circuit, Golliwog go on to bet on what’s potentially the album’s strongest HC ace, the song Corporate Puppet, while I’m particularly delighted by the slightly more metalized touch of Factory Of Neo-Con Stomping Boots. The dark vision of an army of hypnotized, socialized individuals who unwittingly fell under the oligarchs’ spell and would be ready both to die and to kill for politicians, left or right, is the real brilliant moment of the record, and the compositional peak is further built up by top-notch, finely polished multi-part harmonies. Sarcasticyinic, with a sharp execution of all the stereotypes of Cali-punk punchiness in a mini package, then turns into one of the rare moments of naivety, wedged onto the record for the sake of fun – with the song Bite Me Golliwog wouldn’t have hooked me till the end, but in context vegan activism gets poured into the ears with lighter undertones rather than preachiness. After that Golliwog return to harder tracks of destruction with the sharp HC-fest of the song Make My Day, and the grand finale went to the longest song, over four minutes, Chess Pawn, and after a cinematic, playful intro Golliwog close their second full album round with a lovely pop-ish, genius track which, compositionally, proves that we Slovenians, too, can serve the world something that was easily and entirely justifiably labeled the best punk record of 2010!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IGiRVF4zR0
The album Plague Allegiance has no weak spot on which you could reheat your anger and bitterness over the lack of imagination of Slovenia’s garage defenders. Maybe individual moments hung in the air a bit, but in the context of the whole, every chord, every song, every verbal mantra and warning works in line with the very essence and heartbeat of the Ribnica-Kočevje collective. They aren’t preachy for the sake of criticism itself. The leftist convictions of social liberation may run counter to many a clerically minded, narrow-minded type, but in their thinking and argumentation Golliwog are more than two lengths ahead of all those well-known loudmouths who sell punk as a front for flaunting that they don’t care about anything, with anarchy just a nice slogan on a T-shirt that means nothing and commits its wearer to nothing. Golliwog swapped nihilism for proactivity and the search for solutions for a better tomorrow. Hedonism and conscienceless, aimless wandering have nothing in common with the time of the indigo generation, and Golliwog package their socially critical note in a good sonic package, and with the more than 30-page accompanying mini booklet on the pressing problem of the Illuminati conspiracy and the worldwide domination of the new world order, perhaps a few will be found who, instead of apathy, act more decisively and in a healthy, revolutionary way. Though I believe kids today don’t exactly love reading, I’m convinced a bit of instant education is entirely in order this time, a revolutionary shift toward intellectual upgrade and awakening offered at just the right time. Plague Allegiance is thus a super basis for reshaping your conventional views of the world, and at the same time I dare say it’s also one of the more potent punk products deserving a place in the pantheon of more important albums, not just on this side of the Alps but beyond. Bravo Golliwog! Keep up the good work in the future too!
Lineup
Rok – drums
Vid – guitar
Saša – vocals, guitar
Matej – bass, vocals
Production
Rok Podbevšek, Saša Hrovatin & Matej Oven
Tracklist
1. Mask Of Sanity
2. King Of Hearts
3. Hermit Crab
4. Serotonin Fix
5. Deception Of A Frozen Heart
6. Anti-Heroes
7. Lucid Fairytale Nightmares
8. Solitary Confinement
9. Blue On Blues
10. Integrated Cerebral Circuit
11. Corporate Puppet
12. Factory Of Neo-Con Stomping Boots
13. Sarcasticynic
14. Bite Me
15. Make My Day
16. Chess Pawn
