One more Polish discovery, as that bustling scene keeps dishing out quality material, leaning heavily on past/current stalwarts like Collage, Quidam, Believe and Albion, a slew of finely chiseled whose legacy has found a new younger set of musicians to keep the tradition flowing. I recently found their 2023 debut Czekajac… and enjoyed it so much I contacted the band in order to review this new 2025 album, keeping the same 4 instrumentalists, Janusz Glowacki on all guitars, masterful keyboardist Marcin Pergul, Tomasz Zarzycki on bass duties and the drums handled by Adam Watly. Singer Anna Grzesik replaced original singer Gaba Latak and maintains the charming Polish language as the main feature. The concept is based on Tarot cards and the various at times complex interpretations of the meanings behind each one.
Seven classic Polish neo-prog tracks with the nearly 9 minute “Eremita” first up, a no-nonsense Neo-Prog piece that has all the hallmark attributes mentioned above , delightful piano, short synth blasts and deep choir mellotron, fluctuating guitar phraseologies and compact rhythmic support, giving Anna’s at times husky masculine voice some latitude to wander into lower register. Then, she can also hit the loftier female notes. She has an adamant style that knows how to emote convincingly, as opposed to just singing the lyrics.
“Wieza” is another thicker piece of expansive melodicism, the posh keyboard structure holding the fort with colossal mellotron backing and effect-laden guitar heroics with enough tonal shifts to keep the listener involved. The canonical verse carries the story, and the chorus reaches elevated levels of intensity, with all kinds of detail to make it even more compelling.
The epic centerpiece comes in the form of “Wisielec”, almost a dozen minutes of eccentric demonstrations of pinging electronics, sudden synthetic carpets of massed choir, a glittering electric guitar vernacular that scratches, claws and cries in unadulterated fright. It’s a sinister expanse, burdened with grumbling instrumental roughness, a large dose of colliding intentions, and muted melodicism. The piano flirts with the bass, like two lovers in unison, as the voice expresses crushing pain, without holding back on theatrical flair. Guitar man Janusz Glowacki glows like a raging bonfire and Marcin continues to excel on the ivories.
Coming down to earth on “Swiat”, the translucent acoustics are refreshing, delicately caressing the ears, with just enough insouciance to make the alluring chorus even more attractive, melodically speaking. The crystalline keyboard vibrations resound in echoing pools of glee, as Anna sings her way straight into a volatile mid-section that shatters all illusions as it motors down the sonic highway, led by an accelerated guitar line and increasingly unyielding and insistent vocals.
The darker-edged “Kolo Fortuny” operates on a gloomier plane, verging on something from a horror movie soundtrack, the spooky attention eventually focusing on the despondent vocals. The crying guitar exertions keep the tension ongoing, and the ebb and flow organ runs ratchet up the pulse, going into muscular overdrive.
A rather acoustic premise comes along on the quaint “Kochankowie”, a bucolic intro swerving into a perfectly-paced scorcher, flute mellotron backdrop that eventually shapes the painfully sorrowful chorus. Like the perfect foil, Marcin’s piano is at its most romantic, oozing pathos, underpinning the mood, as the e-guitar glides gently in the background. That fiery axe will eventually scale the cascading mellotron squalls and insert a blistering splurge that will remind some of Mirek Gil’s finest moments. Collage and Believe fans will love this !
The echoing and sustained electronics come as a pleasant surprise on “Rydwan”, the bass barging into the undergrowth, the sudden shift to symphonic dissonance and the voice stoically holding on. The swerve into a placid mid-section with delicate flute sonorities comes as a welcome addition, before kicking the increase of velocity into full gear.
This is a new and artistic band well worth following in the future, as they may be representative of the follow-up wave of Polish Prog.
4 bearded mysteries