Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Pigs Parlament
Label: Self-released
Release: 2017
Rating: 4/5
Pigs Parlament are a band from Goriška Brda. A sextet devoted to the punk rock tradition, they approach it with incredible heart and fire, so the musical result can sound very abrasive, meaning rough around the edges, even rudimentary, though that label is actually a bit too harsh here, even if the sound is very elemental and primal. At the same time, the band brings a hefty dose of musicality, mostly thanks to the horn section. Male and female vocals trade off, packing plenty of anger, rage and disappointment, but also a lucid, wry, tongue-in-cheek seasoning, occasionally dipping into the local dialect, which fits the songwriting perfectly. So from that first impression you’ve probably worked out yourselves that this is punk heavily spiked with HC raucousness on one side and ska elements on the other. The album delivers a total blowout of a party, directed by a band that runs on alcohol, and Brda has that in abundance, this being wine country where you can trust the winemaking in every possible way without limits!
Instead of one »classically long« album of eight to twelve tracks, Pigs Parlament decided this year, five years after the release of their predecessor “Different Pigs, Same Shit”, to put out two records. Compared with that predecessor, both have less than half as many songs. The first of the two new records, the one these lines are about, »Slovenska Svinjska Stranka«, already came out back in April this year. Releasing two albums, even short ones, in a single year isn’t a bad idea if your confidence tells you you’re happy with how the songwriting turned out, because that way people also keep writing about you more substantially and the self-promotion can be even more effective.
The lyrics are uncompromising and extremely biting. The band spews a mountain of rage and juicy remarks about the glitz and misery of the new enterprise that the »founding fathers« christened the »state« of Slovenia. Here Pigs Parlament hold nothing back and set themselves no limits. No holds barred, they »peel« the skin off the backs of the nation’s henchmen, who under the pretext of acting »for the good of the fatherland« have, in barely twenty years, eaten away everything that was ever good in Slovenia. And, as a monument to total madness and absurdity, this »high treason« just keeps going and going.
Pigs Parlament don’t stray far from what they delivered on the debut. They’re superb musicians, razor-precise in their work, and talented songwriters too, even if we’re talking about a take on fast punk that, in its honesty, and that’s the most important thing, fills you with energy, wakes the rebel in you and with its message doesn’t just shock you but actually rouses you. Punk that blows the lid off your head.
And once again the excellent cover illustration is a neat concept, one the band sticks to faithfully in 2017 too, and on which they effectively and forcefully develop and nurture their musical voice. Pigs Parlament are absolutely a must-hear live. That’s where their musical rhetoric reaches its maximum expressive peak, charged with a flammable, sparkling sincerity that touches the listener instantly. Even though plenty has already been said about punk in Slovenia, bands as fiery as Pigs Parlament, who shake you with their message straight up and with no sugarcoating, are simply in short supply, and there can never be too many of them!
Line-up
Tina – vocals
Matej – bass guitar, vocals
Vasja – guitar, vocals
Deni – guitar, banjo, vocals
Miha – trumpet, vocals
Bobi – drums, vocals
Production
Matej Srebrnič
Tracklist
1. Dw sm
2. Zlati cajti
3. Hejtr
4. Žganje party
5. Vse za dober biznis
6. Je blo zadost
