Beauty and the Bizarre

Small Souki & The Big Trouble Band present Dancing with the Devil – the very first album to review now that One Volume has found its feet again and this group, formed back in 2021, has given me plenty to talk about. So here we go. Well, the first listen can be unsettling, I’m overwhelmed by voices, reflective of those multi-dialogue-in-your-head moments, and sometimes meditation is the only way to come back, to centre yourself on what's coming through. Not your average listening experience that’s for sure. Some may say a NSFW tag could be placed. I guess this is what they say experimental and psychedelic rock is known for. It's my first day back at the notepad and I'll not shy from facts, I was certainly unprepared. I kept open-minded, thinking a little too small, and now I’m surrounded in sound, shown a world of music much more vast than I normally listen to. Well worth the experience. Pulling a highlight into view here, Stadtpark takes the podium. It's the first track on the album, and it sets up everything I hope to find ahead. A cinematic movement that feels sinister underneath. The soft and creeping presence of the guitar keeping pace underneath, a subtle force that starts the chill in my back. Played with great care and subtle strength, not letting the track move until a climactic end, a cyclonic swirl, great pace, faster now, spinning. Catch your breath, back to gentle sounds to set the story once again. The violin, it's so beautiful, you could score a film with the music they put together in these moments. There's a rush, this ever-ascending build. So much push and pull and competing elements. Roxanne Szankovich plays the violin and offers backing vocals, one of many voices that disorientate. If you find the album and don’t have too much time, start here. Q.O.S. – this must be the inspiration for a dance moment, a tinge of positive tonality, given the vocal treatment I sense might be their signature, dialled in echo and reverb. Whale (a journey through the Mediterranean Sea) – from land to the sea, a clever array of effects create a whale song. It sounds as though the effects are on the violin to create this, while the vocals shine in a reciprocal moment, could be a conversation. One voice and the whale song effect. After such a beautiful exchange the pace moves into instrumental breaks that seem so unexpected. This continues throughout. The guitar moves from gentle to staggered and driven, increasing its distortion and its pace. The vocals move from almost operatic in the beginning and then move to aggressive vocal delivery, to the edge of a voice breaking and the harsh tonalities. Masturbation Song – a slow dance of a song, a little NSFW with a climactic end. Just hang with me for a moment more, the album took so many turns and I lost time but as it came to a close the strangest thoughts circled. The voices, so many voices. I’ve got my ear to the bathroom drain, I'm hearing echoes, screams, wails. A little confused, I glance at the title. What's the song called? 'Satan.' Well, yep, that sums it up. The closing of the album leaves an epic with so much to hold together over 14 minutes. Leaving nothing unsaid, the conclusive ending of my Dance with the Devil here. I sat trying to gather thoughts after feeling so disconcerted. They show depths of experience musically. Without warning it changes, morphs into wild areas, yet they seem so in control. Dancing with the Devil was recorded and mixed independently in their own studio and out in the Austrian countryside. With a shoestring budget, they embrace DIY and created some physical tapes as well. Putting teamwork to the test they were also in charge of a poisonous mushroom removal from the bathroom. Talk about living wild. Sometimes the settings in which we play create an explorative sense in the world, this would be it. When asked why this music came to be, “This album is the most aggressive album we've made so far, mostly because it describes the general societal situation of the last 3 years worldwide and the disconnection we experience as humans from nature and from each other, through our political choices and the social norms that accompany them. We tried to highlight the reasons of our disassociation and make a statement that regardless of the fact that especially nowadays direct influence and change are made by those, who are financially powerful, while simultaneously the vast society suffers on a daily basis, collectively we have the capacity to fight for our rights, for freedom and equity and find hope and grow within ourselves, as well as an interconnected people. We mean to send a message to authoritarian regimes, that while they deconstruct basic human and environmental rights, we'll keep on pushing back and they will still confront us on the streets and on our dancefloors.” I'm in awe, I may not understand it from my current point, but I'm so open to explore, to find out what's beneath the auditory level. There's deep connection I'm yet to unravel. And in the sheer number of songs and albums being made, this one leaves an impression. One of curiosity and excitement. The impression that exploration never ceases in music. The unique traits of individuals coming together to create will never not be amazing to me. Their next move in terms of musical creation, album, single, anything. Where it goes next, the unpredictability is what keeps us here. Till next time. Listen to Dancing with the Devil on Bandcamp: https://smallsouki-tbtb.bandcamp.com/album/dancing-with-the-devil