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XAXAXA – Sami Maži i Ženi

XAXAXA – Sami Maži i Ženi

A while ago I introduced to you the band XAXAXA from Macedonia. They still have a name representing laughter and have released a new record, titled: ‘Sami Maži i Ženi’. That means as much as ‘Lone Men And Women’. Everything is in Macedonian, so the lyrics might be a challenge.

Before we checked ‘Siromašni i bogati’. That album, like this one, came out on the MoonLee Records label, which has some excellent Balkan punkrock to offer. The band still combines Macedonian sentiments with punkrock like that of Hüsker Dü and Dag Nasty. If anything, the bans has shifted a bit more to an indie sound, which in fact matches the vocals a bit better but also makes them more vital in the sound the band is putting on.

Songs like ‘2 milioni trkalački kamenja’ have a bright indie feel to it, but the lyrics hold a cynical tone. It’s hard to grasp the symbolism in their words, but references to extremes, to the past and current affairs make a punkrock cocktail. There’s still some kick left in the band fortunately. The same goes for ‘Radio Motorika’, which seems to reach out from Skopje to Ljublijana. Catchy is the mellow rhythm, combined with high pitched fingerpicking guitar work.

And so the record gently moves on with songs like ‘Ema’ and ‘Sami maži i ženi’, offering catchy riffs and tasty songs that are easy on the ear. Some samples interrupt the songs now and then. ‘Sakam doma da živeam’ feels hectic and is brimming with enthusiasm. The lyrics question the link between feeling home and buildings we live in. It’s that typical peculiarity you find so much in the music of XAXAXA.

While listening to this record, I keep having doubts if this sound is right for this band. After hearing the final song on the record, which is about riding a bike, I feel that they are at home in this indie sound with a punk edge. ‘Ti što voziš velosiped’ closes the album in the way it is meant and tells us that it only took 2 albums for XAXAXA to find the sound that’s right for them.

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