HOLLYWOOD

Bolting out like madmen from your speakers as soon as you set this Czech salami slice in your deck, the first surprise is that the music sounds indeed like a torn piece of flesh, ripped apart from your own body. Beefy, fleshy, bloody, stringy, rare, medium rare, blue or raw, this kind of human tissue is certainly not easy to get into, unless feeling a bit like Hannibal Lecter. Nothing that really hurts physically, but more so in terms of moral damages and others irremediable changes to your brain cells once the slice is regurgitated from your deck. This is the second, third or fourth (not sure) album from Uz Jsme Doma, released in 93. Coming after the stunning Milenovany Svet album, the group was down to a quintet, having lost wind player Kalouskova (but sound-wise, there is no revolution), but the artwork is still designed by Velisek as would all (or almost) the group's albums.

So the record starts at a 300 Mph speed with semi-hardcore post-punk lines, but once there is the descending motif, the music veers flamenco with castanets beats and acoustic guitar strumming, only to return to the usual hard Gypsy-jazz that so many avant-prog groups are dishing out since Debile Menthol's debut album. The record is a succession of nervous, raw, multi-speed track ranging from the ditty (3 are less than 2 mins-long) to much more complex Koroze and Vlazna both bordering the 8 min-mark). Technically very impressive (check out the dramatics the title track), the album has an already-heard elsewhere feel, as do most of UJD's albums. From Miriodor to Cro Magnon, from Interference Sardine and Rouge Ciel, to Volapuk and Alamaailman Vasarat, there are plenty of groups that develop some multi-vitamined eastern gypsy folk-jazz. Aah, yes!! I'd have inserted the album closing Jdi Tam much calmer track around the sixth or seventh place in the running order, just to allow the listeners to catch their breath, instead of waiting too long, until the end.

UJD is yet another good avant-prog group heavily delving in semi-metallic gypsy jazz-rock, but unfortunately for them, I discovered them well after all of the other previous group, so I will likely never consider UJD as a must-have group in that genre, but they have their undeniable qualities that makes this group no less than the others mentioned iabove in the present review.