Author: Sandi Sadar Šoba
Artist: Red Five Point Star
Label: Kapa Records
Released: 2011
Running time: 42:15
Rating: 4/5
Three albums, hundreds of gigs at home and abroad, and a heart, mind, lungs and soul soaked in Trbovlje stubbornness, determination and talent: that’s what defines a decade of ska-reggae-swing soldiering by a bunch of punky, playful youngsters going by the name Red Five Point Star. And it’s the sign of the five-pointed star that gives them the magic power to keep building on their already well-laid rustic groundwork and, like the rebels in black-and-white films from a more innocent (or at least more naive) age, offers shelter to everyone craving the warmth of sentimental memories while the stormy sky of modern, cold, postmodern technological revolution of depersonalization rages outside. That could be a short summary intro to what this handful of songs, woven into the musical narrative of the record Worst Case Scenario, has to offer.
For the third time, ska in its pure, mostly undistorted and unspoiled form stays loyal to the conservative commandments laid down since the album In Color from 2005 and the fairly successful and well-promoted record Stepping Out. If it ain’t broke, reason says you don’t mess with the cogs of a well-oiled machine or rack your brain over how to force something new and monstrous, since such forced and violated delicacies usually end up pretty miserably in the junk rooms of music history, with only the overly optimistic fans digging them out every now and then. So in their English-Slovenian playfulness, Red Five Point Star have rather woven a wreath of functional songs that will work well both on record and in their more natural habitat: on stage.
Red Five Point Star are first and foremost a live beast, feeling best on stage, whether that’s festival boards, clubs or something else entirely. The brains behind this pack of passionate, horn-and-rhythm-driven strummers is Uroš Grahek, who, alongside the outstanding trumpeter Sony Čevdek, keyboardist Janez Vratanar, drummer Janez Levec, saxophonist Matic Titovšek, flugelhornist (horn player) Gal Kukovič and bassist and Srečna Mladina member Gašper Gantar, builds on the lukewarm treats so far with a set of eleven hot tracks, perfect for dancing and bursts of optimism. The album Worst Case Scenario is a socially critical, reactive mix of ska, swing and rockabilly, with a dash of jazz, Latin and the punky edge of The Clash thrown in, made for dancing and catharsis. RFPS are the media through which a universe of musical fragments breathes, and the sum of those fragments doesn’t add up to tattered shapelessness; instead the whole thing bubbles over with talent-infused music in its highest-quality form.
The first ace the guys are betting on is the fast-paced Trbowska, which with its sharp, uncompromising ska-punk wildness digs into your subconscious from the very first moment. A tribute to Trbovlje, the miners, the smoke and the gray-covered walls, it’s a vignette of love and pride in one’s roots and ancestors. An upright stance, defiance and a hardcore belief that passion and music can drown out the dark moments of social crisis and the decay of honorable traditions of the past give the ska expression of RFPS a special flavor and a diamond edge. After the first track comes the instrumental bit Worst Case Scenario, which shows that every link in the musical chain is well-oiled and knows its job, and it’s refreshing that the rhythm can swim from rigid ska to Latin without missing a heartbeat. Next up is Life For Life, a solid little song, but when the words aren’t written in the language we dream in and use to speak the world around us, its slightly rough though decently “faked” English is effective, sure, but light and not as punchy as the start of the record. In fact, a similar complaint could tie together all the songs written in English, which are held above the waterline of mental boredom by really good music and arrangements. Above the average, My Own Way bubbles up from the rest, though it’s pulling into Trbowska territory. Nova Revolucija, a tribute to the new revolution of the Occupy movement, calms the passions and thoughts a bit, followed by the surfer moment of the record with Mustang, which races along as if Dick Dale had written it, and the ending grows into a stampede reminiscent of Srečna Mladina’s Bobri. Incomprihensible is a musical treat, and in the guitar solo Uroš mischievously weaves in his homage to Slash and a whiff of Guns on a relaxed reggae trip, but watch out, because the record has more tributes to musical heroes from their record shelves! After the song Decisions it’s worth waiting a little, since RFPS reward you with a hidden bonus track, Englishman In New York, with Sting dressed up in samba rhythms and a smooth, and above all more optimistic, shade of sunny gold.
The music is top-notch, the performance too, so I don’t know why anyone would hold a grudge over a bit of sappiness and some hard-to-make-out but well-sung English across the whole record, since at worst Worst Case Scenario is a record that works as an unobtrusive soundtrack for your spring or summer garden party with good friends, loved ones and good food and drink. Carpe diem. Enjoy the day as if it were the last in the world, or the first on the road to mental awakening. Good positive vibes are only a plus, and there’s nothing wrong with having a great time listening to a homegrown record and singing a verse (or two) along with the band now and then. RFPS are just the right fit for something like that.
Lineup
Uroš Grahek – vocals, guitar
Sony Čevdek – trumpet, backing vocals
Janez Levec – drums
Gašper Gantar – bass
Janez Vratanar – keyboards
Gal Kukovič – flugelhorn
Matic Titovšek – saxophone
Production
Matej Gobec & RFPS
Track list
1. Trbowska
2. Life For Life
3. Worst Case Scenario
4. The Contender
5. My Own Way
6. Nova relovolucija
7. Mustang
8. Social Security
9. Incomprehensible
10. When I’m Smiling
11. Decisions
