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Punk in Ljubljana is very alive and kicking, and what we have here is the proof that the new generation of punx continues the path where their ancestors have stopped sometime in 1986.
"Sedem Pesmi" is the first offering from Poguba, relatively new band that managed to merge the dark and bitter spirits of 80's Ljubljana HC bands like U.B.R. and STRES D.A. with pogo 82 madness of DISORDER. We listened to this recording a lot last year and we are extremely thrilled to finally put it out and archive the first steps of these lovely youngsters.
Feel the Yugo HC darkness, check out Poguba!
Autsajder Produkcija brings us two cassettes from this young band from Ljubljana, Slovenia, continuing the label’s hot streak. Poguba strikes me as an extraordinary band, and while I’ll attempt to describe what they sound like, there’s something magical about these songs and performances that you really need to hear to appreciate. When Poguba is in hardcore mode, they remind me most of the primitive punk that came from the UK in the early 80s, though not any band or scene in particular… one minute they might sound like Chaos UK’s first couple of singles, while the next I’m thinking of the 4 Skins’ toughest tracks, and fans of the Massacred will dig “Mrtvaški Ples,” which speeds things up to a Special Duties type of tempo. But then there’s this whole other side of Poguba where they bring in these dark, post-punk-ish melodies that recall both 80s Eastern European punk and Joy Division’s earliest recordings (see “Nadgrobnik” and “Anarkist Javisst (Palimpsest)”). While Poguba’s music evokes these past eras of punk, it doesn’t have the copy/paste quality that so much contemporary punk has… there’s some quality of authenticity that’s hard to pin down, but definitely there. Poguba’s other strength is that their vocals ooze charisma. My favorite vocal moment is the closing track on the studio tape, “Z Glavo Skoz Zid” which has this manic blathering thing that makes me think of Amde Petersen’s Arme if they were obsessed with Eastern European punk instead of American hardcore. There’s definitely something special happening here, and it’s easy to imagine Poguba letting their ambitions run wild and quickly outgrowing DIY punk’s limited scope. Maybe they’ll even be like Fucked Up or Ice Age and garner the attention of indie rock fans and labels. For now, though, they are a unique and special underground punk band that you should hear. I recommend starting with the studio demo, Sedem Pesmi, then proceeding to the live cassette, V Živo, which captures (mostly) the same set of songs with slightly lower fidelity and slightly higher energy.