Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Rodoljubac
Label: Slušaj Najglasnije!
Released: 2016
Duration: 65:41
Rating: 4.5/5
Rodoljubac are back! After the album »1713« (2008), they return with a new, and overall third, studio album. What the EP »Terrapija šoka« (2014) foreshadowed is now confirmed by the band’s new full-length, titled »Rodoljubac«. When you walk through the material on the new record, you don’t need to be Einstein to realize that this album, with its thirteen tracks (plus two extras), offers an insanely dense load of information. It proves that Rodoljubac, as one of the longest-running rock’n’roll outfits in Slovenia, remain an incredible band. They still hold on to the shackles of old-school punk rock, the way Slovenes brewed it in their brighter days, but they keep evolving their genre starting point and building on it. In fact, in this respect Rodoljubac have been progressive all along, to a degree. They keep moving forward artistically, and their artistry can handle, on top of the basic punk rock’n’roll premise, a tolerance for other genres (blues, stoner, hardcore punk, even metal), as well as several rhythmic turns packed into a single song. That last remark applies especially to the new album, since drummer Rok Peršolje’s arrival brought a real change to the record’s look and feel, and it would surely never have reached this level of dynamic variety without Rok’s technical chops.
Rodoljubac are still first and foremost punk rockers, because the unmistakable, stamp-it-on-your-brain vocals of Damir Mrak are with us the whole way once again, full of caustic, bitter, bile-soaked poetry that is one big middle finger raised at the system that steals people’s identities and paints them into gray, obedient mice. Then there are the choruses that recall the roar of street gangs, the direct, garage-stripped, dirty-distorted yet fat-sounding guitar that cuts a wild, filthy punk rock’n’roll stampede (often chopped off by semitones in those tuned riffs), and finally a pile of marching anthems, driven by an uncompromising rhythmic fury.
The middle sections, the »mid-eight« parts of the songs, are often subjected to motif modulations. The guys always take care to dose these parts perfectly with guitar solos and well-placed drum transitions, where Domen’s thick bass line rattles out front and contrasts with the sound of the songs through its search for melodic variety. Davor Mrak is an incredibly insightful guitarist. In a middle section he will even play two (separate) solos back to back. I’m talking about proper guitar solos from a guitarist who knows exactly what guitar soloing means, not, say, half a minute of clinging to one string and three sloppily played notes (which punk could, of course, take in stride with no trouble at all). These elements, too, give the Rodoljubac story the character of »advanced«, that is, »progressive« punk rock.
The effect? One of a kind, unique, instantly recognizable. You could call it homegrown and self-made. The album radiates charisma, and with its sharp and singular art culture it keeps the band in its spot as the cult kings of the alternative rock underground of northern Primorska. I’m not exaggerating when I say that Rodoljubac are today a living punk rock ‘n’ roll relic from the old-school days, long after Hic Et Nunc and Dicky B. Hardy sank without a trace. They don’t lack insight in their messages, and they lack even less performance fire and fury. Rodoljubac go in balls-out and don’t steal a second of the listener’s time, because it’s clear to them that you “can’t make a hayrack out of a dick.” They are the grounded scream of the little guy turned against the machinery of absolute control, which offers you »security« in exchange for selling it your soul. And let there be no mistake. This music is made today by guys who are well past forty, not twenty-year-old brats from whom you’d expect such a musical pose and message (which is a pipe dream anyway, since rock in Slovenia is a story called »game over«, quietly fading and vanishing from our surroundings).
The album »Rodoljubac« has no patience for fakery, makeup, or cosmetic prettifying. The quartet is incredibly experienced and knows exactly what it wants, so it clings firmly to its musical philosophy on the new album as well. On top of that, Rodoljubac play superbly. These are four excellent musicians who complement each other incredibly well and fill each other’s gaps when it comes to realizing ideas. Keep in mind that this album was recorded in the spirit of a live show in a room, or rather a studio, where Rodoljubac tracked most of the songs in one go (one attempt, »in one take«).
With the experimenting that is by no means new to the band’s career, Rodoljubac at their most interesting moments bump this time, for example, into the psychedelic rock’n’roller V sobi je miš, and even brush in passing against a pinch of the charisma of the legendary Buldožer. Lucidity and unconcealed sarcasm are not in short supply here either, and the album is generously stocked with both. Especially interesting is the closing track, Zbogom orožje, which in its gloominess even creates outlines that, in some other story, could have drawn the frame of doom metal.
Once again the band has delivered a huge amount of music. Thirteen regular tracks and two bonuses. The guys obviously feel that a lot of water will flow under the bridge before the next album, so they crammed »Rodoljubac« with everything they’ve created lately that came to hand. And it’s unbelievable. A long and hefty 65 minutes of music, which is what we find on the album, doesn’t tire or bore you for a second. We’re talking not only about the songs’ abundant variety of ideas and structure, but also about great performance value, and about an album with an exceptionally expressive charisma as far as the poetry itself goes. The band once again skillfully trades in lyrics in Serbian and Croatian, which has always suited their musical pose and character incredibly well.
If you’re looking for authenticity and an answer to the question of what real punk rock’n’roll is in the purest sense of the word, then you absolutely have to turn to the album »Rodoljubac«. It will scrub out your ear canals so damn well that your ears will bleed! The holy rage of the genuine energy of good old-school punk rock thus lives on, unconcealed! And if, say, Ljubljana long ago succumbed to corporate makeup artistry, or falls for some trendy pseudo-scene of discovering higher intellectual spheres of »post-punk« (oh dear, »drone«) droning on two notes, sonically manipulated over a time span of half an hour, the rebels of the Soča Valley won’t be giving in or renouncing the primal spirit of the punk rock tradition anytime soon.
Rodoljubac – Zbogom orožje (official video):
Line-up
Damir Mrak – vocals
Davor Mrak – guitar
Domen Jeriha Perinčič – bass guitar
Rok Peršolja – drums
Production
Rodoljubac
Track list
1. Glava
2. Sam
3. Promašeni slučaj
4. Mrtvaški valcer
5. Idiot
6. V sobi je miš
7. Odjebi prohibicija
8. Stampedo pizdarij
9. Zloba
10. Preko trupel
11. Budala
12. Zakrul & Zažagi
13. Zbogom orožje
14. Po šumama i gorama*
15. Lulam krvavo *
*… bonus tracks
