Rockin' in Rijeka----My Buddy Moose--Alt-Country Croatian Sensations

The Majestic Moose. An iconic noble beast whose image has many meanings in many cultures.

 

Alces alces......

In New Hampshire, the Moose is the large animal that mashes the crumple zone of your SUV like an accordion, as you head northwards for your drunken ski weekend. The highway signs listing roadkill stats along the way attest to this irrefutable fact.

In Sweden, the Moose is a delicious stew often served with lingonberries. I know this from my travels in Sweden, home of some of my many ancestors.

In Minnesota, the Moose is an American hero from Frostbite Falls, with a flying squirrel as a sidekick. I know this because I watched too much TV as a child. I was that kid that got up at 5:00 A.M. on Saturdays to watch "Agriculture U.S.A."

In London, Moose is synonymous with 90's Shoegaze music--thanks Big Takeover for the tip!

But in Central and Eastern Massachusetts, the Moose is oft regarded as a symbol of awesomeness...........

But unfortunately, with more of the beasts' natural habitat being destroyed daily, the herd may be thinning.....

Shed a tear, Boston......R.I.P.

But I will save such an insider story (stories) for another time....

Today I will be touting a pretty great alt-country band from Rijeka, Croatia.
They are My Buddy Moose, and they are definitely worth your time.

Got everything I Need.....

I found out about them accidentally, when I was checking out the website of Chris Eckman of The Walkabouts. Clearly he works with a lot of interesting groups, from Eastern Europe and Africa, and My Buddy Moose is one of the groups that he has spent some time with. I gave this group a listen and I liked what I heard very much. So I grabbed a copy Shine! Shine! Shine!, which I believe is their 3rd album, released in 2013, which Eckman was the producer on.



Luka Bencic--Vocals, Guitar, Organ
Matko Botic--Guitars, Mandolin
Jasmin Decevic--Drums, Tambourine, Backing vocals
Istvan Sirola--Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals, Lead Vocs on Roulette

I'll simply say that if you enjoy groups like Wilco (or Uncle Tupelo), The Band, R.E.M., Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, The Replacements, or The Felice Brothers, you will really have fun with this one. If it matters to you at all, the vocals are all in English. Except for a slight accent in places, you would imagine that this band is 100 % American. It doesn't matter that much to me what language they choose to use.

There is some very nice guitar work throughout, and the songs are full of big meaty hooks. The music is fairly high energy--these guys rock out rather nicely. I don't know if they bring anything particularly new to this genre (so what), but they are very very good at what they do. At least 2 of their albums including Shine, are available digitally. For a hard copy, Discogs would be a good place to look, or maybe Ebay.



And check out Chris Eckman's website---you will find some interesting music to listen to there.

This song is not on Shine! Shine! Shine!, but I like it so much that I couldn't resist. From their  eponymous 1st album...

I was stranded in the Combat Zone....

Croatian Sensations!--Kud Idijoti---Glupost Je Neunistiva

I pulled out an old CD I've had for a while by Kud Idijoti, a punk band from Pula, Croatia. Just because I don't understand a damn thing they are singing about doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the hyperspeed pop punk on this 2 album collection released by Incognito Records in 1996. Glupost Je Neunistiva--Stupidity is Indestructible. Really enjoyable melodic music in the vein of the Clash, Damned, Ramones. In a lot of cases there are team sung vocals on the choruses, giving a lot of the songs an anthemic feel. But like any good band, they can't hide the great musicianship they possess. Like the German Punks Die Toten Hosen, they incorporate other musical genres for effect; in this case like polka, hard rock, balkan horns, country music, surf rock, 50's music, kitsch. But when the day is done, these guys play punk the way its supposed to be played--with a lot of heart. And they know their way around a pop hook.

Before and After Communism

I'm trying to remember how I got this Cd. My gut tells me I bought it through Ajax records, a great mail order company/eclectic music label from Chicago. Alas, they are no more---I spent a lot of money there. Incredibly diverse music was stocked at Ajax and they also released albums by groups like East River Pipe, The Cannanes, New Zealands' This Kind of Punishment, The Mountain Goats. You kind of knew that the main impetus of the label was not about getting rich. Well, I digress....

According to their website, the band is:
Tusta: Vocals
Sale Varuda: Guitar, Bass
Bucolini Dejo: Drums

Since I don't speak the language, here are some examples of what these guys do so well. I am under the impression that a lot of their songs are politically themed.




I guess they are a very popular band in Croatia, as they should be. I went on their website, and apparently the band is on a hiatus that began last year. But this is a band well worth knowing. There are a lot of great bands that most people don't know about. For the discerning punk rocker, the world can truly be your oyster.