Izvođač: Wolf People
Izdavač: Jagjaguwar Records
Izlazak: 2010
Trajanje: 42:55
Ocjena: 4.6/5
Na londonskim ljubičastim brežuljcima, punim plave trave, narančastih stabala i duginih ptica, Wolf People sviraju za crne ovce. Ponekad tužno, ponekad sretno, ovdje spore tužaljke, a ondje vesele poskočice. Sve to uz nebrojene boje koje se prelijevaju kroz uvijek promjenjive oblike okolnih stvari, oblaka koji tvore londonska predgrađa i londonskih predgrađa koja su zapravo oblaci. Britanska alternativna scena obogatila se prije nekog vremena bendom koji svojom inteligentnom svježinom unosi u kronologiju psihodeličnog rocka novo desetljeće uz bok šezdesetima i sedamdesetima.
Britanski eklektici dakako, usprkos modernoj interpretaciji inovativnog rocka, ne odbacuju brojne utjecaje šezdesetih i sedamdesetih prošlog stoljeća. Šaljivac Captain Beefheart, psihodeličari Can, narodni jazzeri Pentangle i tako dalje, dakle hrpa pravih glazbenih inovatora, unikatnih svaki na svoj način – svi su na svoj način pridonijeli cjelovitom zvuku Wolf People. Najveća se paralela vjerojatno ipak može povući s legendarnim Jethro Tull, ponajprije zbog upotrebe flaute uz distorzirane gitarske pasaže te osebujno posebnog vokala, iako paralelu s “Tullsima” Wolf People odbacuju – uz usporedbe su u intervjuima bili čak i iznenađeni, jer nitko od njih nije neki fanatični Tull fan. Upotrebu puhača cijene ponajprije u bendovima Breakout, Traffic, Family i Mighty Baby.
Ako dakle znate spomenute bendove, onda si već možete zamisliti daleke i prigušene zvukove debija Wolf People “Steeple”. Andersonov narodni vokal i sviranje flaute, nekoliko nadrealnih zvučnih zavjesa skupina Traffic i Family… no u trenutku kad začujemo Sharpov svilenkasti vokal koji izaziva žmarce, dobijemo amneziju i sve što ostane su Wolf People. Ian Anderson, tko? Sharpov mekani i umirujući vokal, inače sposoban za izvanredne širine, visine i još nekoliko dimenzija, brzo uspostavi stil benda, a istodobno nebrojene druge primjese prožimaju prepoznatljivost “vučjih ljudi”, koji ne daju prioritet samo vokalu, čime bend tvori neponovljivu osobnost.
Tako su već prvi koraci u “Steeple” unikatno opojni. Svaka je skladba doduše drugačija, no usprkos tome od prve do zadnje sve su Wolf People. Otvaraća “Silbury Sands” tako nas predstavlja s možda davno zaboravljenim žmarcima na leđima, koji se uvijek iznova pojave uz predivni Sharpov glas, a pri buđenju iz zasanjanosti, kao rečeno, brzo se osvijestimo i o ostalim primjesama u folkerskoj distorziranoj psihodeliji Britanaca. Povremeni teški gitarski riffovi koji se vješaju na hrpu zamrljanih i pulsirajućih efekata te izluđene linije i solaže flaute oblikuju zvučnu sliku koja se slušatelju urezuje u misaoni tok i zajedno tvore jednu svijest. Album nas doduše (baš u pravim trenucima) vraća isključivo vlastitoj svijesti, no onda nas vrhuncima, među koje osim otvaraće skladbe spadaju još Tiny Circles, Morning Born (koja je osobni favorit) te dvojac epskog završetka Banks of Sweet Dundee, baca natrag u geografske snove Sharpa, nepostojeće fantazijske krajolike, pastelna mjesta s još nevиđenom prirodom, i tim se mjestima svijesti nikad ne othrvamo. A i kad bismo pokušali, bili bismo neuspješni.
Wolf People tako neprestano preskaču granicu inovativnosti i retrospektivnosti, granicu modernosti i zastarjelosti, granicu nečeg već čutog s onim osjećajem domaćosti i nečeg iznenađujućeg i nepoznatog. Ta je granica uvijek zamagljena, prividna, uvijek iznova stvorena i na drugom mjestu. Sve u simbiozi i simetriji s onim zvučnim i lirskim slikanjem uvijek novih krajolika u našoj svijesti, gdje smo isto tako uvijek na sigurnom, doma.
On the purple hills of London, covered in blue grass, filled with orange trees and overpopulated with rainbow birds, Wolf People are playing for black sheep. Sometimes in sad tones, other times with happy majors, mixing slow lamentations and funky dances, accompanied by a myriad of colours that slowly blend through the always changing forms of their surroundings, through clouds, which form London suburbs, and London suburbs, which are actually clouds in the sky. British alternative scene has gotten a band, which with its intelligent freshness pairs another century with the psychedelic rock of the sixties and seventies.
Of course, despite their modern sound, it is impossible for the British eclectics to deny the influence from the sixties and seventies of the last century. Jester Captain Beefheart, psychedelics Can, folk jazzers Pentangle and so on – all of these musicians did their job at contributing to the Wolf People’s sound. But the biggest parallel could be drawn with the legendary Jethro Tull, especially because of heavy use of flute alongside distorted guitar passages and inherently special vocals, though Wolf People deny the parallel with the “Tulls” – when they were compared to them, Jack Sharp was surprised, because none of the members is a Tull fanatic. They admire the use of the flute in bands like Breakout, Traffic, Family and Mighty Baby.
If you therefore know the mentioned bands, you can already picture the sounds of “Steeple”, Wolf People’s debut, though those sounds may still be distant and dulled. We imagine Anderson’s folk vocals and flute manoeuvres, surreal soundscapes of Traffic and Family… but as soon as Sharp’s silky, back-tingling vocals kick in, we get amnesia and all there is left is Wolf People. Anderson who? Sharp’s mellow and comforting voice, capable of exceptional widths, heights and other few dimensions, quickly establishes the band’s style, but at the same time numerous other admixtures entrain the image of Wolf People, who don’t prioritise only vocals, which gives the band recognizable and inimitable personality.
Even the first venture into “Steeple” is a unique daze. Although every track is different, each and every one of them shouts (or rather, howls) Wolf People. Opening “Silbury Sands” reunites us with the long lost tingling sensations on our backs, though after returning to reality from Sharp’s hypnotic vocals the listener quickly becomes aware of other ingredients that make up that Wolf People sound. Regular heavy guitar riffs, which rely on tons of fuzzy and sludgy effects, and wacko flute lines and solos form this sound picture that engraves itself into listener’s train of thoughts with which it forms one conscience. Their music lets us go to our own thoughts at times, but never frees us for real, especially because there are so many highlights – tracks like Tiny Circles, Morning Born (my personal favourite) and the epic duo Banks of Sweet Dundee are definitely some of the album peaks. Sharp’s geographical dreams, non-existent fantasy landscapes, pastel coloured places with never before seen nature… we never want to leave that.
Wolf People are continuously crossing the line between innovation and retrospective, between modernity and obsolescence, between something already heard with that homey feeling and something surprising and unknown. This line is never clear, always created from thin air, always in a new place. Working perfectly in symbiosis and symmetry with those sound and lyrical pictures of always newly created landscapes in our mind, where we are always safe, always home.
Postava
Jack Sharp – gitara, vokal
Joe Hollick – gitara
Tom Watt – bubnjevi
Daniel Davis – bas gitara
Popis skladbi
01. Silbury Sands
02. Tiny Circle
03. Painted Cross
04. Morning Born
05. Cromlech
06. One By One From Dorney Reach
07. Castle Keep
08. Banks of Sweet Dundee Pt. 1
09. Banks of Sweet Dundee Pt. 2
