DOKTOR SPIRA I LJUDSKA BICA

First 11 songs from the album "Dijagnoza" ("Diagnosis") are less interesting, mostly basic new wave with remnants of acoustic folk and krautrock, with a theme of alienation throughout the album, which makes it interesting but not the jolliest of listens.

Previously unreleased second album (translated "Design For The Real World") is excellent and much more diverse, with more influences coming into the mix, world music for one. Ambient, boogie, dance and atonal music also can be mentioned as influences in the album sound, but every song is a story for itself. For instance, "Negde U Gradu" ("Somewhere In The City") is more in a electronic blues tone, "Moji Prijatelji Mi Kazu" ("My Friends Say To Me") is a dark dance influenced number, while the mouthful "Kraj avanture otimača izgubljenog kovčega na Pesčanoj planeti", (translated "End Of Lost Chest Kidnapper's Adventure On The Sand Planet") is a short but sweet ambient motive with space rock qualities that slowly degrades into an loud aggressive guitar with female chorus. PINK FLOYD influence also shows up in "Prvi Sneg" ("First Snow"). "Vruće Pile" ("Hot Chicken") is something like post-punk bands GANG OF FOUR or SHRIEKBACK but with a flute and "Molitva svetom Kamenku Katiću ("Prayer To Kamenko Katić") is a prayer reminding a bit of THROBBING GRISTLE. Whole album is all over the place like that, with even cabaret showing up as an influence.

Overall if you won't mind the language barrier and are interested in the experimental side of 80's music you might want to give this one a listen.

To be sure, "Dijagnoza" (Diagnosis) is not prog rock but is certainly a kind of avant-garde exercise in the Yugoslav understanding of the new wave. Dragoslav Mihajlovic Dr. Spira and his band "Ljudska Bica" (The Human Beings) were a sort of cult figure during the early 1980s Belgrade alternative scene. They recorded this album in October 1980, but since no label wanted to release it in Yugoslavia, he went to London and privately cut a 50-copy limited edition at Trident Studio to be distributed among his friends. It was only in 1986 that an editor of the PGP RTB label in Belgrade was persuaded to officially release it domestically. 

Had it been released back in 1980 or 1981, it would have certainly stirred a sensation akin to that of the famous "Paket Aranzman" record, a sampler of young punk-inspired bands from the "Belgrade alternative scene" - Sarlo Akrobata, Idoli and Elektricni Orgazam. They even shared recording premises of the same Belgrade studio in the autumn of 1980 and were probably hanging around together, exchanging ideas. There is a striking similarity in the sound of the more uptempo songs like "Uvek isto zbogom" (Always the Same Good Bye), "Slobodan pad" (Free Fall), "Igrac na zici" (Tightrope Player) to the future works of Sarlo Akrobata and even Katarina II (EKV). Strong beat, prominent bass, jerky guitar chords, and neurotic vocals are reminiscent of Pere Ubu, Talking Heads, XTC, or Gang of Four. These are the strongest tracks on "Dijagnoza" that combined the art rock side of the new wave equation with melodic hooks that would have certainly guaranteed radio play success. Dr. Spira's lyrics are surrealistic, dealing with the topics of urban paranoia, alienation, decay, or madness in line with post-punk aesthetics. Vocals are mostly non-singing, shouting, whispering, speaking, reciting, and acting out.

Other interesting moments are more subdued and experimental, such as xylophone and flageolet picking of bass guitar strings in "Ima dana kad mene moja dusa boli" (Some Days My Soul Hurts So Much), percussion-heavy spoken word recital with some echo effects and bass solo parts in "Budjenje" (Awakening), or a slightly dissonant avant-folk acoustic number "U znaku lava" (In the Sign of Leo) that sounds like taken from the repertoire of the Slovene avant-garde singer/songwriter Marko Brecelj. The remaining songs are not very good and some slow-tempo jazzy numbers with piano - "Ponekad" (Sometimes), and "Marina" - are particularly boring to listen to. "Dr. Paranoia" contains whispering vocals and introductory guitar chords that remind of the Smak's title song off their album "Zasto ne volim sneg" from 1981.

Overall, this is a worthy album that is diminished by several subpar compositions and bad overall production. It is amazing to hear that Dr. Spira actually influenced so many bands that would become more popular and critically acclaimed. I was initially prepared to give full 4 stars, but given the said flaws I must lower my mark to 3. Still, it is recommended to listen to all who like the above-described style of music.