PAMIęć

Firstly, I declare a heavy bias towards this band that I have known for nearly four decades. Fortunate enough to see them perform live many times - always a very satisfying experience! - and even met the artists in person. I have almost their entire discography in my collection.

Whilst not everything they produce is to my ultimate liking. I admire the artists for their refusal to compromise and for remaining true to what they believe in. Yes, you may have guessed, we are onto 5 big ones here...!

This album is perhaps not the easiest to get into, it's one that tends to mature over time. Admittedly, there are times when I find Skrzek's vocals a bit over-indulgent even to the point that given the ability, I'd edit some of it out. That's not the case here and on this release his emotionally charged, heartfelt singing is a pure delight, hence the reason for choosing to comment on "Pamiec" in order to raise awareness.

I grew up with the vinyl release of three long tracks, the bonus material on the extended CD however don't blend well with the original work and appear to be really just that, "bonus". Some are quite good though, but in reality they shouldn't have been included here.

So, three long tunes delivered in a thoughtful and unhurried manner. Each one I consider a masterpiece and Skrzek's singing is just superb on every one of them. Apostolis on guitar is more in a support role here, adding flavor without dominating. I assume that there is an agreement between the two leaders on swapping the dominant role on different albums, but SBB is largely of Skrzeks's vehicle.

Special mention is due to the drummer who devised some simple, yet effective beats that I haven't heard anywhere else before, or since. It's regrettable that he chose to retire from the music scene leaving SBB with credible, but only semi-permanent replacements. (SBB has now become a duo with Apostolis attending to the skins, too.)

The album has a fine balance of plenty of grunt alongside beautiful melodies. Highly recommended.