DIE WITHOUT LIVING

2018 saw the band back with their second album, and it is a shame their website hasn't been updated as I am having to guess some of what happened in between. Although he appears on the album, I get the impression that Szymon Kubala may not actually be in the band anymore, as Dawid also added guitars this time, and there is a guest guitarist in Wiktor Batek (along with an additional singer in Milena Locksmith) and the band photo only features Dawid and Dominik. Between the two of them they also provided all the material. There is much more guitar on this album, with quite a lot of distorted fuzz in the background, and the whole feeling is much more upbeat than the debut. There is still the large concentration on vocals, but less piano and more bass, and it is far mro dynamic.

The addition of Milena for "54" is a touch of genius, as her Floydian "Gig At The End Of The Universe'-style introduction takes the song in a totally new direction. Piano, warm bass, and strong vocals from Dawid and Milena is for me the highlight of the album, as although they still have the naivety so prevalent on the debut, here they are showing confidence and here is the first time where one can see this band being around for quite a while, as the change in attack and approach after three minutes is both unexpected and pleasing. The band have also got to a point where they decide they are going to close with a 17-minute epic in the title cut, which is again somewhat unexpected given their style of material which doesn't really lend itself to really long numbers. But, with plenty of acoustic guitar, loads of space between the layers and a lot of atmosphere, it somehow works even though there are times when it is at risk of going in the wrong direction as it is so laid back.

As with the debut this is an album which shows promise, but we are still some way off from the finished article and it will be interesting indeed to see what comes next as they are certainly progressing in terms of songwriting and confidence.