Rebel Star – Početak I Kraj (Geenger Records / Pop Depresija)

When Danijel of Geenger Records asked me to listen to a debut single by this group, I had a strange feeling about it. For some unexplainable reason, I thought I heard it before. It was impossible since the single was recently released, but that feeling remained inside my head for a while. It reminded me of some bands I have deeply loved for a very long time. I almost instantly told him that the song reminds me of bands such as Eva Braun and Popcycle. After some research, the name Milan Glavaški solved all the mystery. The principal songwriter, composer, singer, and leader of Rebel Star previously played in both bands. Rebel Star roams the indie scene for quite some time now, but I never heard of them before, and I blame the local media for that mistake. Luckily, their new album is here thanks to Geenger Records and Pop Depresija, so let’s dig in together and examine this piece of artistry.

Početak I Kraj is already praised by many alternative/indie media as an album of a year, an album of a week, album of the day, and there’s a pretty much good reason for those titles. Milan Glavaški is an author who takes his songwriting and composing seriously. Even his guitar sound is recognizable and unique, and you’ll probably never stumble upon a musician from the Balkans with such a distinct guitar sound. All these elements are part of the formula that never fails. Quite the contrary, his songwriting, composing, arranging technics improve gradually since his involvement in Eva Braun and Popcycle. Therefore, Rebel Star sounds and appears even better than his previous sonic endeavors, mainly because of the new ideas, new approaches, years of experience, and many other tools of the trade. Of course, it is also due to the remainder of the group, who’re also professional and skillful musicians.

For those who’re not familiar with the previous activities of a Rebel Star, you’ll solely enjoy their music no matter what genres you are currently involved in. Perhaps the sheer dominance of indie pop and indie rock comes first, but Rebel Star is one of those bands that always go a step further. The group likes to experiment, explore, try out different approaches, technics, and the best part about all these experiments is that everything sounds incredible. You may also notice some minor interruptions of country, Americana, classic pop, nineties rock, but it seems like an indie pop/indie rock suits as an appropriate classification for Rebel Star. Soundwise, each instrument sounds superb. You can hear every chord progression, harmony, melody, theme, bassline, drum beat, vocal segment, so countless hours of listening pleasures are more than guaranteed. Početak I Kraj is currently available as a digital release, but the labels announced that a vinyl version is coming up next year. Until then, check out the Rebel Star Bandcamp page, Geenger Records, and Pop Depresija for more information about ordering a digital release.