Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Patetico
Label: Celinka
Release: 2015
Runtime: 40:34
Rating: 4/5
Maribor’s Patetico added some real color to the Slovenian scene at the start of the new millennium. Their takes on a handful of musical evergreens sounded wonderfully unique and fresh. In 2004 the EP »Prolog« came out on Sanje. The band had more material ready to record, but ran into trouble getting the copyright clearances. Finally, in 2006, under the wing of the same label, they put out their self-titled studio debut.
Nine whole years have gone by, a solid nine years. The band is back. This time with a proper album full of original music. That’s the real ace that gives any band full credibility. It took a long time, and it was worth the wait. The unique, instantly recognizable charm of a blend of cabaret chanson, thoroughly spiced with jazz moves and detours into blues and even swing, is wrapped up in eleven new original songs, with composer Gregor Stermecki on board (he’s worked with Bilbi, Severa Gjurin and Papir, among others), full of delicately sensual playing, tenderness and genuine emotion.
Nika Perunović is the kind of singer that bands with a stylistic mash-up like Patetico’s would fight each other tooth and nail for. You’ll struggle to find a voice better suited to cabaret chanson. It’s thanks to her unique, recognizable timbre, which sounds »dollish« and shy, yet in all its soft sensitivity wins out with remarkable punch, that Patetico work as a complete musical body that’s utterly special and one of a kind. Goosebumps hit you instantly, that’s how real Nika’s voice feels as she throws herself fully into Rok Vilčnik’s poetry. Her vocal storytelling whisks you off to a parallel world in a heartbeat.
The eleven songs strike just the right format, a balanced mix of musicality and improvisation. The lead instrument carrying most of the melody is Berden’s piano. He’s also the one livening up the motifs with a whole host of ornamental improvisational touches, though Dejan never overdoes it. He keeps carefully measuring out and placing his notes so that every composition holds on to that desired, pleasing, almost instantly likable, musical and compact character.
A mix of melancholy and a touch of playful lucidity remains the band’s unique calling card. With Nika’s vocal performance, the execution of the material is fantastic. The way all the building blocks of the soundscape complement and sense each other has a chemical attraction, and through sophisticated playing Patetico caress the listener’s ears with an exceptional sense of finesse.
At last! Patetico with a full-blooded studio record of original material. A superb record that should have come out at least seven or eight years ago. But it’s never too late. Let’s hope the band keeps the creative juices flowing and that a new studio successor joins the album »Vse je v redu z mojo dušo« in the near future. »Vse je v redu z mojo dušo« is an exceptionally well-played album, which comes from the musicians’ really long mileage and wealth of experience. All of which means the live encounters with Patetico will be that much sweeter!
Lineup
Nika Perunović – vocals
Dejan Berden – piano
Ciril Sem – drums
Tadej Kampl – bass guitar
Rok Vilčnik – lyrics
Production
Rok Vilćnik
