Artist: Dan D
Label: KifKif
Release: 2009
Running time: 56.40
Rating: 4/5
Four years ago, the Novo Mesto rockers Dan D scored an unexpected hit with their third album “Katere barve je tvoj dan?”, and plenty of people crowned them the heirs to the Yugoslav rock legacy. Now the pleasure-loving lads from Dolenjska have surprised us at the start of this year with a new studio album, “Ure letenja za ekstravagantne ptice”.
Many expected a “copy-paste” version of its predecessor, which, with six successful singles, was the make-or-break moment at a crossroads. Instead, the album takes a step toward a more mature Dan D and marks a return to raw rock`n`roll. It’s one of those records that only clicks after the tenth listen, and nothing on it is done off the cuff. The lyrics are far from simple and pull the listener into thinking. They’re critiques of the state of mind of today’s society and of generally accepted moral values. Above all, what matters is that all fourteen songs are bound into a whole, helped along by the extravagant title as much as by the unusual illustrations from Matej Jenko. The concept is built around the Klavžar bird, almost extinct worldwide and completely wiped out here at home. And if Dan D said in some interview that the record is more “organic” and unfriendly to radio stations, that’s not true at all, since the gentlemen have already launched two successful singles onto the scene, “Jutranja” and “Google Me”. They also stuck to the tried-and-tested formula for success and trusted the production to Žarko Pak, who this time got help from the German producer of Italian roots Fabio Trentini, whose calling cards are records by Guano Apes, Donots, Paddy Kelly and others.
The flight hour over plains of cviček-soaked rock`n`roll kicks off with “Magično”, one of the few tracks, if not the only one, whose place on the record was a big question mark. After careful consideration the sensible call was made, and no other song would probably have fit the opening slot better. “Moj problem” shows up on the album twice. The first time (track two) it’s dressed in a slightly swingy get-up, and the second time, as track thirteen, it feels more at home in an acoustic outfit. Which one suits you better, judge for yourself while listening. Dan D bet on a similar swingy vibe in “Google Me” too, which, unlike the first two songs mentioned, is mostly about moral questions: what’s good and welcome on the internet, and where you need to be careful when building personal profiles on all kinds of sites.
Using foreign words is a double-edged sword. Tokac only chips away at the purity of the Slovenian language when he wants to underline a deeper meaning and give it a lasting value that would get lost too quickly in Slovenian. Besides “Google Me”, such songs include the seventh, “Halo” (“Mene daje, ooo, daje, mi corazon … mi corazon …”), and the eighth, “Love Song” (“Daj povej mi, koliko ljubezen stane? / Love song, sad song / ali so tvoje želje kdaj zaspane”). The twelfth, “Put slonova”, is written entirely in Croatian and, at six and a half minutes, is also the longest song on the record.
The first single, “Jutranja”, which you’ll find at track number four, serves up one of the catchier choruses. “V zraku so prepovedane misli / nekdo pozna naše pravo stanje / a se ti ne zdi … da je vse manj ljudi … / nevarne igre na meji okusa / izbrani plešejo nad nami / a se ti ne zdi … da vse manj boli …” — combined with the illustration in the accompanying booklet, it reeks, intentionally or not, way too strongly of the cult film “Eyes Wide Shut” by director Stanley Kubrick. The slightly calmer “Sirena”, with Tokac’s hushed vocals, soothes the choppy waters, which heavily distorted guitars whip up again in the second half of the song. Sadly, though, the “fantastic five” is broken by the sixth track, “San san”, where the intro gives you the feeling that this isn’t Dan D but Siddharta, with Tomi Meglič happily playing the guitars. Here too (just like in the previous song), though, the real Dan D only show up in the closing section.
The trend of borrowing motifs from other songs, kicked off last year by the summer hit “All Summer Long” from the notorious rocker Kid Rock (with motifs from “Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon and “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd), has evidently made its way to Slovenia as well. The ninth track, “Rožice”, contains a motif from the folk song “Pozimi pa rožice ne cveto”, even though the lyrics barely touch each other.
“Čakamo” and “Tiho” are the calmer songs on the record, though the latter surprises with a punchier, more melodic chorus. “Novo sonce” landed right at the tail end, and its slightly dark and melancholic lyrics suit that spot well.
Lineup
Dan D:
Tomislav Jovanovič – Tokac: vocals, guitar
Dušan Obradinovič – Obra: drums
Marko Turk – Tučo: guitar
Nikola Sekulovič: bass guitar
Boštjan Grubar: keyboards
Guests:
Miro Tomšič: percussion (1)
Uroš Bon: percussion (2, 9, 12)
Igor Misdaris: large and small roženice (9)
Primož Žižek: clapping (13)
Sašo Mutič: clapping (13)
Petra Štupar: clapping (13)
Production
Žarko Pak, Fabio Trentini
Track list
1. Magično
2. Moj problem
3. Google Me
4. Jutranja
5. Sirena
6. San San
7. Halo
8. Love Song
9. Rožice
10. Čakamo
11. Tiho
12. Put slonova
13. Moj problem (akustično)
14. Novo sonce
