Marinada – Savršena Marinada LP (PDV)

As much as the music scene moves forward with continuous innovation, experimentation, and various genre-bending shenanigans, we all must agree that the crowd usually leans much more towards those well-known, established musical paths. And these established paths do not necessarily explore fundamental, predictable, repetitive, bland sonic maneuvers, but do lean much more towards something more familiar to what the crowd used to listen to in clubs, parties, and on radio stations decades before. In the case of Marinada, an excellent alt-pop group based in Rijeka, musical expression means many things. In one way, their music delivers that sweet synth-pop, synthwave, and new wave sound we all adore, but on the other hand, their song structures are so innovative, unpredictable, and enchanting by all means. It’s always good to hear that there are artists and bands who think outside of the box, and Marinada stands as a perfect example of how retro sounds can sound so innovative, catchy, engaging, and captivating. With “Savršena Marinada,” their third full-lenght album released via PDV about a year ago, they do not only showcase their outstanding ideas and exceptional musicianship, but also tremendous knowledge, experience, creativity, talent, and ongoing innovation in sound. The band combines sheer minimalism of eighties synth music with all those subtle yet vividly hearable details that make their music so spacious, complex, and technically demanding in a fresh, innovative way. Besides all the fundamental elements of synth-pop, synthwave, and new wave, which are audible in each composition, you’ll also notice moments where Marinada dabbles with art rock, art punk, post-punk, new romantics, and primitive electronica, making “Savršena Marinada” such a colorful, versatile, captivating material suitable not only for synth-pop fans but also for anyone who appreciates cleverly assembled and flawlessly performed music. It’s unquestionably a treat for your listening apparatus that you should not miss.

Although essentially minimal, “Savršena Marinada” reveals more details with each listen, forcing you to pay close attention. The band employs straightforward rhythmic patterns where every beat, break, fill, and accentuation has its place and purpose in keeping a regular time signature, but also forcing listeners to move their hips and dance. In a proud tradition of good synth pop and synthwave recordings, Marinada incorporated the Roland TR-808, R-707, and TR-909 here, making “Savršena Marinada” as authentic as possible, and it certainly works to the advantage of the entire material. You’ll notice how the entire album has its unique, unified flow that keeps you motivated and dancing from scratch to finish. In the meantime, the synth basslines bring more warmth, depth, clarity, melody, and power. You’ll hear how those deep, dense, heavy low-ends levitating around, bringing more groove and detail, without ever overwhelming or spoiling the remainder of the orchestrations. At some points, these basslines intersect perfectly with remainder of the synth works, making “Savršena Marinada” as complex as possible. And you’ll love all those melodic sequences, arpeggiated chord progressions, harmonies, melodies, pads, themes, and leads. The remainder of the synth works creates a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon. These interplays are so catchy, memorable, engaging, ethereal, otherworldly, and captivating, offering a rock-solid, cinematic ambiance while maintaining that sweet retro-sounding quality. The lead vocals play a significant role in keeping listeners engaged throughout the entire process by delivering deep, conversional, abstract lyrical content that forces you to hold your breath and think for a while. At some points, you’ll find those lyrics similar to something post-punk, art-punk, new wave, and other similar styles explored in their music during the late seventies and early eighties. This type of lyricism perfectly suits sonic output of the band and makes “Savršena Marinada” even more appealing to the ears.

If you’re looking for a perfect synth pop, synthwave, or new wave album, empowered by fresh ideas, excellent musicianship, and modern production, “Savršena Marinada” will be right up your alley. Marinada demonstrates boundless creativity, exceptional ideas, and outstanding musicianship through minimalistic yet entirely complex compositions. It’s a soulful, passionate, hearty homage to the eighties music through the modern sonic lens. You should immediately grab this gem via the PDV webstore.