OPEN SILENCE

Open Silence is a first album, made,recorded and produced by members of progressive rock band Solid Ground. They come from small country, Montenegro, who is not well known by it's music, especially not by any kind of rock. This album is released in december 2013, but is only available on their bandcamp page. Album contains nine tracks,and from the first to the last song the jazzy mood sets in, with the piano and the trumpet deftly upheaving the jiving bass and drums. The songs are clear, undoubted modern form a jazz-rock mixing. Album shows its strength in a wise and light way, alterning between stronger rock almost metal passages and coming back and forth to the jazzy effects which make the instrumental, guitar driven part of the song even more interesting. This is a feeling I get around the whole album, it vanishes from a style to jump deftly into another one. Rarity that this band gives me with this album is usage of trumpets and electrifying female voice, as well as experimental electronic fusion effects. My overall conclusion is, that they are great but not yet discovered progressive rock band. Can't wait to hear more of them!

As one of Europe's newest independent nations, Montenegro which was a part of the greater Yugoslavia for most of the 20th century has only found its newly found freedom since 2006 but in that time has been playing catch up with the rest of the world especially in the music department as younger artists are gravitating towards metal, hip hop and various strains of pop, however progressive rock hasn't exactly caught on within the borders of this tiny little nation hosts less than 700,000 inhabitants. One adventurous group of musicians though has sallied forth into the brave new world and into the complexities of the progressive rock world.

SOLID GROUND started in 2006, the same year of the nation's newfound independence and not only that but emerged from the city of Cetinje also known as the Old Royal Capital as well as secondary capital of the nation with the official residence of the President. This project was initiated by Ivan Pejović (bass) and Nikola Vicković (drums) who were seeking a new style of music to compose but residing in a country suspended by time without the prog influences of the Western nations, it took a few years to find the right band members to create the proper chemistry. Eventually Andrija Pejović (guitar/vocals) would join the party and take things a little further but the band's sound didn't really take off until Strahinja Kovačević (trumpet/keyboards) joined the crew and added a touch of good old fashioned Balkan gypsy jazz to the mix.

Once vocalist Tamara Brajović joined in, the lineup was complete and got to work on the band's so far only release OPEN SILENCE which came out in 2013. This was a completely DIY effort with no technical or financial support but the result is a mighty fine slice of progressive rock with a touch of the local flavors that make the Balkans region of Europe so exotically fantastic! OPEN SILENCE may not flaunt those Balkan charms but they are embedded within the fabric of this interesting mix of progressive rock that mixes in a little grungy guitar, jazzy trumpet with some avant-garde experimental electronic twists and turns. Overall though the album is fairly accessible and delivers darkened yet highly melodic strains of melodramatic rock that display some moody atmospheres and excellent instrumental interplay between the members who as perfectionists were keen on making this album the absolute best.

Vocals are in English and the music is drenched in darkened echoey jangle guitar riffs with groovy bass riffs and what sounds like sludge metal delivered jazz drumming techniques. The overall feel is somewhat Gothic especially with Brajović' unique vocal style. The tracks each have a distinct persona despite flowing together quite well and the mix of the darker grunge oriented tracks alternating with the more upbeat flavors of Balkan gypsy jazz offers a nice swing from gloom to a more festive feel. Balkan folk and gypsy music has been a long time personal favorite and the additions in the music here may be subtle but add that extra zest that keeps this from falling into the gloom and doom morass. While SOLID GROUND exhibit clear ties to progressive rock with outbursts of time signature workouts and some clear references to post-rock and even King Crimson guitar tones and dissonance, the band is clearly a more suited crossover band as the focus is squarely on the dark melodies backed by an almost electronica tinged post- punk sort of sound.

SOLID GROUND found instant recognition in the homeland by playing at the Sea Rock festival of alternative music in Kotor but still remains rather obscure throughout the rest of the world. A new album has been rumored but five years on after this debut still nowhere to be found. For the most part OPEN SILENCE is a strong debut by Montenegro's first progressive rock band emerging from within its tiny territorial dimensions. Hopefully this band will continue the promise presented on this debut and break into a larger audience. What's cool about this one is that it sounds somewhat familiar yet sounds bizarrely just off-kilter enough to be unclassifiable as to exactly what this music is. Is it rock? Prog? Alternative? It's never clear. It's all of the above and yet never delves too deeply in any direction. An intriguing debut that Europe's newest indecent nation should truly be proud of.