Review Summary: Dubioza Kolektiv venture into foreign territory without compromising their sound and/or loosing their charm.
One can only imagine the dudes of Dubioza Kolektiv smoking pot on a lazy afternoon and going “Duuuuuude!!” when they heard their first hip-hop record. Same probably happened when they first heard dub and funk. Combine that with the ever present Balkanian love for their ethnic brass music and you’ve got yourself a nasty combination.
For those of you who don’t know, Dubioza Kolektiv are a seven-piece Bosnian band. Through the years they have gathered quite a following and have become known for their unique mixture of musical styles and their ballsy lyrics that either critic politics or encourage the use of marijuana; sometimes even both at the same time. Thus their verse “Bolje ganđa, onda sex” (better pot than sex) has become their trademark of sorts.
Their fifth Lp is an apparently an attempt to break into foreign territory, all of the lyrics being sang exclusively in English. Besides this obvious difference, not much has changed. For one, they haven’t seemed to have matured at all and despite the change in language their sound has not been compromised. They still possess their Balkan charm, even though it’s mostly because of the awkward English pronunciation. They’re as daring as ever, but this time they are (conveniently enough) criticizing foreign governments, mainly the US. Now if there is one thing that is true about Balkans is they are not the most eloquent bunch, very temperamental and more often than not prefer to present their arguments with fists (a bit of stereotype, but true 99% of the time). And I guess Dubioza realize perfectly that they seem ridiculous most of the time and purposely don’t even try to tone down, so they get their point across in the catchiest way possible. Another thing that is true for Balkans though, is that, while they might not be known as technical masters, they know how to bring the best out of an instrument and in the process making some infectious melodies. Here fortunately enough Dubioza conform to the stereotype.
Unless you’re extremely high, you will notice that Dubioza’s songs follow a pattern. The rapped verses are driven by prominent bass lines and a funk or a reggae drum beat, while turntable scratches and dub sounds echo in the background. The choruses are usually more danceable with a good measure of folk melodies. Sometimes some heavy guitar riffing comes to play giving an overall more nu metal/rap rock feel as in Decisions. Making Money is a bit on the funkier side, Whistleblower on the Dub side, Wake Up contains a large dose of reggae and U.S.A. might very well belong on the Borat soundtrack; but there are no real surprises here.
Dubioza haven’t changed a bit and if you’ve enjoyed their previous releases, you’re going to enjoy this one as well. If you haven’t, you seriously should. But note that Dubioza Kolektiv are not to be taken too seriously, so pull the sticks out of your ass first and then listen. Pot helps too.
