Bednja Archives - NO CLEAN SINGING

This is kind of an odd premiere. In fact it’s probably a misnomer to call it a premiere at all. But the album on which the song appears is so fantastic that I’ve softened my usual rigid adherence to the literal meaning of the word in an effort to help further expose it to new listeners.

The album, Doline Su Ostale Iza Nas, was first briefly released for public streaming — but not for sale or download — by the Croatian band Bednja early last year. At their request we enthusiastically premiered that full stream of it along with an extensive review, from which I’m including a few excerpts below. Bednja’s plan then was to find one or more labels willing to release the album in a physical edition — and they succeeded. None other than Transcending Obscurity Records (whose label boss knows a good thing when he hears it) signed Bednja and will be releasing Doline Su Ostale Iza Nas on November 29th in a variety of formats.

And now, before we get to some specific comments about the song we’re presenting, “Ledena Palaca“, allow me to repeat a few things I wrote in last year’s review (which you can find here): Continue reading »

The Bednja is a river in northern Croatia that rises in the mountainous forested areas near Macelj and follows a winding path until it flows into the larger Drava River. Bednja is also the name of a small village located near the river’s spring, well-known for the hard-to-understand dialect of its people… and for being very cold. And Bednja is also the name of the three-man Croatian band whose debut album, Doline Su Ostale Iza Nas, we’re now premiering.

When the band contacted us about the possibility of a premiere, I began listening to the album, as I always do before deciding whether to host a premiere. By the end of the second song, I was completely captured by the music and hurriedly wrote YES! before the third song began. As I eventually discovered, the rest of the album is every bit as good as the way it begins, striking like an unexpected bolt from the blue. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BEDNJA — “LEDENA PALACA”

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): BEDNJA — “DOLINE SU OSTALE IZA NAS”