After the idiosyncratic trio White Wine packed Menza pri koritu with its theatrical performance, one of the most pleasant surprises of this year’s MENT Ljubljana, Joe Haege and his pals are coming back to Ljubljana with a completely new album! Killer Brilliance was released via Altin Village & Mine, the home of notables such as Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu, in late September, and we’ll pour ourselves a glass of white just a little over a month later.
On its new album Killer Brilliance, White Wine, the project that enticed legendary math rock band 31Knots founder and Tu Fawning and Menomena member Joe Haege from the USA to Germany, deals with today’s world order and power relations, tackling them with biting guitars, repetitive electronic beats, a firm drumming foundation and, if necessary, even a bassoon. Haege’s unconventional singer-songwriter expression is counterbalanced with dystopic 1970s synth punk, courtesy of Fritz Brückner and Christian “Kirmes” Kuhr, with the trio regarded by those in the know as one of the most exciting current acts of the European underground.
This reputation is undoubtedly enhanced by the idiosyncratic stage show, which spins the devilishly catchy melodies into direct art rock theatre under the guidance of the charismatic Haege, as was reaffirmed by February’s performance at the MENT Ljubljana festival, described by Louder Than War as “magnificent” and “great”. There’s just something about this band – something special, something like that appealing quirkiness that made groups such as Devo and Talking Heads so remarkable. White Wine like to say that life is short, so don’t be an asshole. In Šiška, we fully agree, adding: why don’t you come for the gig and a sip instead?
After finding himself without a band overnight, Zagreb native Ivan Lulić decided to set off down his own musical path. He created Luul, a psychedelic shoegaze alter ego with a hint of the dreampop spin-offs of the new Serbian scene, such as Ti in Bitipatibi, and released his first EP in April. Nadam se da ovo nije kraj was published by independent label više manje zauvijek, which has already given us the excellent debuts from Svemirko and Crvi this year.
Organisation: Kino Šiška.
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