Igralom – Sunovrat LP (Geenger Records / Ammonite Records)

If you fancy some afrobeat oriented rock’n’roll, which has been perpetuated with great musicianship, and distinctive vocals, then Igralom is more than the right choice for you. Their second full-length album called Sunovrat contains gracious portions of positive vibrations, perfectly saturated melodies, danceable rhythms, and retro-sounding production that reminiscent psychedelic music from the seventies. Still, this powerful Serbian trio hailing from the town of Niš sounds so unique compared to the rest of the contemporary regional scene, mainly because of their abilities to blend up a couple of musical genres, bend them to their terms of use, and shapeshift them according to their own needs. Greatly performed drumming segments offer more than simplistic beats, but the entirely new level of experimental walk through the vast space of precisely executed jazzy performance. These progressive rhythms have been pervaded with African tribal percussion-a-like drum fills, but instead of percussions, the drummer is taking it to another level by deliberately exploiting toms on his drumset. Warm sounding basslines are transmitting complex melodic layers, which are certainly providing massive foundations for all the guitar psychedelics, but also retain as a fixative between the rhythm section and guitars. Besides being highly psychedelic, guitars are blasting a subtle melancholic feel, but still, all these progressive structures are relying upon wondrous rock’n’roll and funky aesthetics. The complete band nourishes retro sound that is so unique, but it can definitely pair to the contemporaries who are using much modern production technics to achieve a similar sound, that comes nowhere near to the qualities of Igralom. Speaking of uniqueness, lead vocals also sound so unique, interesting, quite suitable for the band with such intensity, cheerfulness, dynamics, and I can’t recall any other band that comes nowhere near to this kind of vocals. Lead vocals have been enhanced by occasional singalongs, mainly comprised of a beautifully sounding female choir, that certainly adds up another layer of pleasantness to the overall listening experience. To be honest, Sunovrat possesses all the qualities of a modern afrobeat record, and with great assurance, I affirm that Igralom is a group of skillful musicians who have done more than a great job on this record. Sunovrat has been published on a vinyl record in a co-production between Geenger Records from Zagreb, and Ammonite Records from Belgrade, but you can also stream this brilliant record at all available streaming services.