Gazorpazorp – Od Vazduha I Sunca CD EP (Moonlee Records)

Gazorpazorp made quite a name for themselves on the Belgrade underground scene in such a short period, and there’s no doubt about their outstanding quality. The group is lurking around since 2016 when this quartet decided to derive its name from a fictional planet that appears countless times at the well-known animated sci-fi series Rick & Morty. After a couple of years lurking around the scene and performing almost everywhere, Gazorpazorp released a self-titled EP with five solid compositions that span over several music genres. However, the band went almost unnoticeable until 2019, when they appeared at the first edition of the Hali Gali festival. The band also appeared at the Hali Gali compilation, which carried the tunes of all the artists who performed at the festival.

Recently, Gazorpazorp released Od Vazduha I Sunca, another extended play with five compositions. This material showcases the natural evolvement of the group that performs for over half of a decade, but the base of their sound remains the same. Their music embraces various music genres that may differ at particular moments but mostly fit the aesthetics of Gazorpazorp. Perhaps the sound of Gazorpazorp could be classified as alternative rock, but there’s more than meets the eye. Besides being entirely devoted to the regional alternative scene, the group combines the elements of post-punk, garage punk, art-punk, new wave, noise rock, and stoner rock. You may notice how the regional new wave and alternative scene of the eighties, British garage and post-punk, New York art-punk, European noise rock and US stoner rock music affected the members of Gazorpazorp. All these elements are vividly hearable in their profoundly detailed music. These ingredients are intervening between each other like a charm, so you won’t get the feeling this material is chaotic or dissonant.

However, this material may appear chaotic and dissonant at some points, but only when the Gazorpazorp decides to do so. The group tends to experiment with all these ingredients as much as possible, so you may also stumble upon some instrumental segments when the group fully improvises with melodies, harmonizes, noises, and rhythmic sequences. Sometimes Gazorpazorp levitates between melancholic melodies and sheer aggressiveness when they feel the urge to do it, but these sporadical twists and turns are balanced to perfection. That’s the moment where the contemporary alternative, indie, and noise rock are jumping to action. The entire material bursts with these experimentations and improvisations, with a sophisticated touch of ear-appealing echoic melodies.

Od Vazduha I Sunca comes on a compact disc housed in a jewel case. While the music completely works for me, I can’t relate to the visual identity. Somehow, it is overly chaotic for my personal preference, but that’s just my opinion, and maybe some other listeners will get a much deeper meaning behind this assorted design. Od Vazduha I Sunca is available at Moonlee Records, so head over to their webstore for more detailed information about ordering this interesting record.