Review Summary: Vital force raging against geometrical boundaries.
A lot of things are shaped squarely in this world. Square miles. Square pants. Squarepusher. Square street in Hong Kong. Okay, I’ve actually just ran out of square objects known to me. There’s but one more left: last year’s LP by Ukrainian post-punk band DK Energetyk entitled “Squares.” Is this album square? Definitely. But is it fair? Let’s find out.
For DK Energetyk a square is a symbol of confinement, strict and rigid boundaries, lack of space, suffocation, but also psychological dependency on material things. Square meters of old Soviet-style apartments and square shapes of dilapidated grey yards that can be seen from their windows. In short, some very strict and clearly defined limitations of either physical or mental nature. With this kind of concept, you would expect for the band to continue pursuing the “dirtier,” mechanical, and grinding sound of their preceding EP / small LP “Zavtra.” But no, they take exactly the opposite route. The band does not go all the way into synth pop like SadSvit, but they are definitely softer this time around. Acoustic guitar is heavily used and so are the synths, while Yakiv utilizes “poppier” style of singing at leisure in addition to his usual post-punk drawl.
It does not always work. The rudimentary synth melody that opens “About Love” (song No.2) feels unnecessary and grating, while “Soldered” (song No.5) Is actually one of the stronger tracks with ear-candy guitar melodies, but Yakiv’s abrupt pitch changes in the chorus sound off-key and unnatural for his voice. I guess it’s Yakiv’s idea of how a pop singer should sound, but it doesn’t suit him. Also, the album takes time to really get going. The first truly great song comes at number four in the track-list. “Boys” features rich synth melodies expertly intertwined with the guitars and joyful lyrics about young friends daring each other to perform risky stints and live dangerously.
In general, the album works best when DK Energetyk merge their old style with the new. Such is the case of “Know-It-All” (song No.7) where minimalistic verse with somber vocals gives way to a memorable, almost soaring chorus or the penultimate song “Bell Toll” where the guitars flutter like a dove’s wings, and the drums are calling you to dance, but the synths have disappeared completely and Yakiv’s voice remains commanding and even harsh in places. One other great idea was not to limit the experimentation to poppier genres, as songs “For the Last Time” (No. 9) and “Buddy” (No. 10) sound fresh and muscular with their sudden outbursts of grungy guitars.
There is a constant tug-of-war between the album’s claustrophobic concept and sheer vitality bursting through the melodies and lyrics of some of its songs, where the latter ultimately prevails. The album does not excel in its darker songs like the closer “Square Meters” with its ludicrously dramatic story of a mean granny determined to outlive all her relatives, including grandchildren, so that none of them could inherit her apartment. Similarly, “Dead Calm” (song No.8) fails to impress with its lyrics so grim that they border on self-parody (“What a beautiful day, please proceed to the gallows / Have your tickets purchased in advance”). Instead, the album’s strength lies with its more life-affirming songs talking about joyful adventures of two young daredevils (“Boys”), the earnest desire to grow up and learn as much as possible (“Know-it-all”), or the gleeful determination to chase a better future even if today you are going through hardships (“Buddy”). Even sad post-punks can’t help but feel the joy of life sometimes, and that feeling can overwhelm anyone, and perhaps even motivate us one day to break through the boundaries of square meters and four walls of our cheap standard-issue apartments.
