Review Summary: A post-bridge from the nineties to the new roaring twenties.
From my school years I remembered that there is an International Bureau of Weights and Measures somewhere in France (had to google the details, it is actually in the town of Saint-Cloud near Paris). It is an organization that comprises 65 member-states and is occupied with the matters of standardization and metrology. Among other things, the Bureau’s headquarters contain a chamber where prototypes (ideal examples) of all SI measurement units are preserved. They used to be physical objects, i.e. a metal bar that weighs
exactly one kilo or an hourglass containing the exact amount of sand needed to count down one minute of time. Nowadays, these benchmarks are represented in the Chamber not through physical manifestations, but through some equations and calculations related to the Plank constant, because physical objects tend to deteriorate and become less exact with time. But the point still stands: this chamber contains
the essence of one kilogram, one meter, one minute etc.
Now, if such a chamber of perfect examples existed for musical genres, they’d have to put DK Energetyk in there as the one and only ideal representation of post-punk. The band hails from the town of Brovary near Kyiv, and their guitar melodies and bass lines would make you think that Ian Curtis’ ghost is haunting them and guiding their writing and recording process. Moreover, even the non-musical attributes of the band are decidedly, exemplary post-punk. Consider their name, for instance. DK Energetyk* refers to a landmark building in the city of Prypiat near Chernobyl, which used to be a place for concerts, festivals, and other mass events, but was abandoned along with the whole city after the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster. So, a building that used to be filled with music and laughter has been desolate and forlorn for exactly 40 years.
Or, the band’s singer, Yakiv Marnyi. Even his surname translates into English as “futile” (for example “Vse marno…” means “everything is futile” in Ukrainian). How post-punk is that? And his voice… Take any post-punk singer and multiply every characteristic of his voice at least by four, and what you get is Yakiv Marnyi. His voice is extremely deep, gravely, and otherworldly, coldly detached for some songs, brimming with raw, vulnerable emotions for others. Even if you don’t understand the lyrics, it is worth listening to DK Energetyk only to hear that dark and looming voice.
As for the lyrics, they are also a perfect fit for the genre, being about as cheerful and life-affirming as Squidward. For example, the chorus for the album’s opener goes like this:
A strike follows a strike
I strike the iron while it’s still hot
My heart is forged out of steel
My soul is but a garbage dump
Of dreams unfulfilled….
The band is quite zealous in its adherence to post-punk standards from the first second of their debut album (the title means “Youth” by the way) to the last, and the first couple of songs do a nice job of establishing the album’s vibe and atmosphere. But I think the most impactful tracks are placed in the middle of the record. The real deal starts with “Energetyk” (song No.3) which features a seriously catchy chorus:
Power plant is working, while the worker sleeps
He is dreaming that his life is but a glimpse
Thunder roars, time ceaselessly flows by
Only memories remain of you and I
Cheerful, no? Ruminations about wasted youth, broken dreams, and dullness of daily routine are quite omnipresent, expressed through lyrics like “there’s only us, our solipsism’s our only weapon against all,” but that’s not all there is to it. The band’s statement of intent is to revive the spirit of Ukrainian nineties in their music, so the album’s imagery is decidedly urbanistic. Balconies, cigarette butts, grey, dilapidated buildings, public transportation going in circles, that sort of thing. Still, I feel like the stronger songs are those where the band deviates from the main topic a bit. Notable examples include “Forgive Me” (song No.7) with its strong contrast between lighter melodies and relentless doom and gloom of Yakiv’s voice and “Artist” (song No.6), a touching depiction of the mindset of a struggling actor overwhelmed with insecurity before a performance.
But we still didn’t get to the main course! The best song on the album resides squarely in its middle and is actually a cover. “Enchanted circle” (song No.5) was originally written by Rusya (full name Iryna Poryvay) who is considered the first (female) pop-singer of independent Ukraine. I myself barely know the lady (I tend to avoid our old-fashioned, “official” pop music, of course), but DK Energetyk treats her song with due reverence. Musically, it is the richest track on the album, full of excellent, layered melodies. Vocally, Yakiv drops his usual detached veneer, and delivers his most passionate performance. For this song, he sounds like a big but timid guy trying to court a small but cheeky and self-assured girl. The lyrics here also offer a rare glimpse of hope. The song starts sad, but ends up on a brighter note, claiming that love will come and break the “vicious circle of samey days and lonely nights, monotonous dreams and indifferent eyes.”
Overall, though, DK Energetyk stay true to the course, giving us a post-punk album that is exemplary to a fault. Such adamant dedication to one particular genre implies some obvious limitations in terms of variety and further development, but it is an interesting and unorthodox experiment, nonetheless. “Youth” features excellent songwriting, great flow, and quite unique performances, especially in the singing department. Needless to say, if you like post-punk, you are welcome to check the album out.
A footnote about the band’s name: DK stands for “Dim Kultury,” which means “House of Culture” – a typical state-supported leisure establishment from Soviet times. “Energetyk” is a maintenance worker or an engineer specializing in energy infrastructure facilities (power plants, water turbines etc.).
