Šumovi Protiv Valova – S/T LP (PDV Records)

Being nerdy myself, I know how some musicians can be fussy when it comes to sound engineering, picking the best equipment to achieve some sort of sound or eventually exploring and learning about everything considering music. It can be a lot of fuss to ordinary music lovers, but for musicians, it’s a whole new world of endless possibilities to perform, record, produce and master their compositions. It may sound ridiculous to someone, but everything is done for a very good reason, so these upgrades can enhance sound quality, enhance acoustics or even develop various atmospheres which will eventually deliver different vibes to the listeners. That’s whats Šumovi Protiv Valova are trying to achieve. Their approach to music differs in so many ways than the approach of other musicians that are trying to bring exactly the same thing to the table in these modern times. First of all, these skillful musicians are not joking at all, their compositions are comprised of so many layers of instruments and sounds, but this can be sorted as some psychedelic post-rock in my book. However, unlike the rest of the worldwide post-rock scene, Šumovi Protiv Valova refuse to master their music digitally and everything is recorded in one take on the magnetic tape, so it’s more than obvious they wanted to capture analog sound of their music and by that, bring the true atmosphere of their performance. The result is presented in six slow tempo multilayered compositions full of melancholic, but not boring vibe which will suit to the wider audience who are searching for some fresh and innovative music, which can be considered as post-rock, but not tightly glued to its true form. Šumovi Protiv Valova are building their tunes from one exact type of sound until they achieve sonic crescendo with tons of brilliantly performed guitar sequences, great repetitive basslines which are almost blended into the hypnotic drum rhythms. The keyboard sections and samples are bringing everything to another level and they fill the music gaps with cleverly picked noises, scratches, vocal parts, and other cacophony. This will definitely be right up your alley if you’re searching for some greatly performed experimental music and you’re not looking for another generic post-rock band. The cover is done by the famous landscape artist Albert Bierdstadt which has been slightly manipulated by a graphic designer to present weather duality or duality between lightness and darkness. Beside the front cover artwork, the rest of the cover is dedicated to photos and all the necessary pieces of information about musicians involved around Šumovi Protiv Valova. This LP has been published as part of the Prekomjerna Doza Vinila series of PDV records which has been curated by Pozitivan Ritam, collective of skillful music enthusiasts located in Pula, Croatia. This record is truly worthy of your cash and it’s a definite must-have in your record collection.