The Barcelona post-punk band, might have turned into the Barcelona new wave band, but they came about it honestly as that is the same trajectory that most of the late- seventies punk bands we think of as the forbearers of the genre went once MTV came about. Here they are pretty blatant with the laser tinged synths that sound like neon looks. The second song maintains the jazzercise beat, while working in the wandering ambiance of the reverb thick guitar. Sung in the native tongue, the Latin makes for a rather opaque take on the sounds from this area. They got all the tones right. The vocals, while commended for not just trying to be Siouxsie are not the most dynamic element of the music. The guitarist pulls most of the weight here, as the guitarists are the most interesting sound that is in play here.
Most bands rooted in a fondness for a retro sound normally get caught up in trying to relive that sound and forget about trying to write a song. These wacky kids who have actually been doing since for sometime now, ride the cold wave sound pretty solidly not unlike Lebanon Hanover, but do so with a groovy bounce in their step , as they collect a wide array of weird synth sounds from the early 80s. "Nie Zompone" flows more like a mellower version of the Thompson Twins, that is not so eager to get you dancing. They ride this vibe for another song, with the bass taking a more organic place in the mix to make this sound more like a band, than some button pushers. There is a lighter tone, and more over this is a step away from the almost death rock mood of their earlier work.
The longest song breaks six minutes as "Elementy Umyslu" takes time to simmer in it's atmosphere. When it kicks in it's a little more on the European Disco side of the equation. They are obviously using some vintage synths they scored from a garage sale. "Tesknota" has a quirky groove, and thanks to the bass player feels more organic, even with the whooshing of synths circling around it like a disco from Mars. The pitch wheels are being spun with more vigor here. There is the full comprehension that the original version of cold wave was more organic than many of the bed room Sound Clouders who try to replicate with computer programs alone.
My only complain is the vocals often feel like they are wandering the song with little direction. They find where they are going on "Na Szlak" which is a little poppier in so doing, but I am fine with that. There is marginally more post-punk influence to the last song, the margin is small but it is there. Overall I can appreciate the evolution, I will give this album a 8.5, and see if it grows on me.
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