ROSOL

4.5 stars. DUNAJ were a five piece band from the Czech Republic who formed in the mid eighties. "Rosol" is their first proper studio album after collaborating with female vocalist Iva Bittova on a 1989 release. Experimental/Post Punk fits the description of the music here. So much energy, and so much going on. Lots of repetitive sounds. We get three guys playing guitar, and just imagine one of them strumming a lot, while a second plays electric and then a soloist. It seems like there's a lot of beats, but really we just get a very active drummer. Although the bass player adds a bass drum, and that bass is upfront and very good. The keyboardist adds a lot of synths that create atmosphere, and some piano. We get three singers but Jiri is the main vocalist.

The music here is so addictive and catchy. So much going on, so much depth. It really reminds me of fellow Czechs THE PLASTIC PEOPLE OF THE UNIVERSE, but without the violin. DUNAJ were quite active from 1991 to 1996 when they released five studio albums before breaking up in 1998. Jiri the vocalist passed away shortly after that. The band did make a comeback releasing an album in 2022 with the bass player taking the lead vocals and Iva Bittova returning to add backing vocals this time. So we get a 54 plus minute album here with 13 tracks. The cover art shows a boy with an ear-piece, hearing for the very first time in his life.

While I like the first half over the second half, this is a consistent recording, and uniform which I like. Those first four songs are incredible, with the fourth one "The Flea" possibly being my favourite track on here. That fifth song "Southwards" has these pulsating synths that are so eighties. I like them. "Locusts" has this crazed laughter almost throughout. "Cassini Division" is a little different as we get reserved vocals and sounds. The synths seem to swirl endlessly on "Pet Child". And talk about repetitive, check out "Stilly". And lastly we get the track "Loiterers" which could have been a single. The lyrics are pretty funny here.

I'm bumping this up. Tis the season. Love this time of year, and this record just makes me want to celebrate.