Artist: Vulture and the Guru
Label: Self-released
Released: 2011
Length: 38:09
Rating: 3/5
This CD landed in my hands a few days ago, quite literally. It’s the project of two Slovenes from across the border, Peter Gergolet and Andrej Kralj, who live in Trieste. Alternative pop rock, sometimes laced with synths and the rhetoric of programmed sampling (Revolucija, Brez kisika) and/or organic collages of acoustic guitar and string arrangements (Nebo). There’s guitar, there’s rock, and there’s the simplicity of dance rhythms wrapped in a layer of programmed-sample makeup and sweet vocals. It’s obvious that the music rounded out by these 11 tracks grew and developed over a good while, because the album has a collection of musically varied pieces, especially when it comes to the character of the arrangements. But that’s not all. There are moments of greater warmth, built on backdrops of natural-sounding string arrangements and acoustic guitar (Enaka, Včasih grem).
It’s a cautious album, knocking on the door of commercial recognition in the Slovenian music scene. The lyrics are sung entirely in Slovenian except for the last track, and the two creators were even go-getting enough to land Tomislav Jovanovič “Tokac”, singer of the Slovenian “mainstream” rock band Dan D, as a guest on the track Enaka. That carries extra weight in paving the way toward anchoring themselves in the Slovenian “mainstream”, and the song also came out as the lead single from this debut and got quite a lot of spins on Slovenian radio stations.
The music has no deep artistic philosophy, so demanding listeners will skip past it and ignore it in a heartbeat. It unfolds predictably, and the songs are built from short, punchy moves, without a shred of pretension or experiments in complexity that would break its enviable flow, compactness and melodic catchiness. The album is easygoing and highly listenable, but don’t forget: it’s Slovenian! The atmosphere is mildly morbid throughout. That’s mostly down to the vocalists, with how they pick out the verses and shape the melodies in them.
The psychedelic, almost out-of-tune guitar is interesting, its distortion hiding behind a wah-wah effect in the track Zdaj ve. That solo feels completely outside the accompaniment’s concept, which works as a welcome airing-out of the predictable, trivially conceived content of this song’s modern alt groove. The songs rest on a strong rhythmic foundation, leaving tons of room for the bass guitar. In the production it’s cranked up in places and takes on the role of the instrument that often carries the bulk of the whole melody. These are post-punk tricks and eighties shoegaze tricks carried over into the present, clung to by trendy fads from Snow Patrol and Pure Reason Revolution all the way to the “army of Bonos” – the new-era U2 (Morska zvezda, Ne streljaj name, Izgubljam se v času).
For Slovenia, it’s a high level when it comes to creative insight! “Tekočina” is a quality product that will appeal to anyone who’s into modern, easily accessible music that’s listenable from the first spin. And if on top of that you’re drawn to the melancholy murmur of typical Slovenian confessional rhetoric, then “Tekočina” is absolutely a record worth listening to. Modern alt pop rock, fermented a little differently. Eleven tracks bring enough musical variety within the main arrangements to keep the dynamic flow of events satisfied. You’ll have to pick your favorites yourself, since the songs stand equal in quality, one next to the other.
With the album “Tekočina”, Vulture and the Guru got affirmation and embodiment as a project. Plenty of developmental starting points are already laid in the cradle of its birth, pointing to where this “independent-alternative” musical sermon can head in the future and build on its foundation album. Given the enviable level of quality and creative compactness of the debut, there’s no doubt we can expect plenty more musical interest from Vulture and the Guru down the road. But given the project’s strong drive to dig in within the Slovenian “mainstream”, it’s wise to stay cautious and drop any expectations that smell of a revolution in musical artistry. So let’s get surprised a second time, too.
Line-up
Martina Feri – vocals
Danijel Malalan – vocals
Tomislav Jovanović “Tokac” – vocals
Peter Gus – vocals
Bojan Kovic – vocals, backing vocals
Peter Gergolet – guitar
Aljoša Saksida – guitar
Alberto Bravin – keyboards
Marko Loredan – bass guitar
Andrej Kralj – bass guitar, guitar, backing vocals
Gianluca Salferino – drums
String orchestra: Conzoni di confine
Production
Andrej Kralj and Peter Gergolet
Track list
1. Revolucija
2. Morska zvezda
3. Enaka
4. Nebo
5. Včasih grem
6. Brez kisika
7. Bova šla v divjino
8. Zdaj ve
9. Ne streljaj name
10. Izgubljam se v času
11. Love Goes Where Love Goes
