"It's wild, funky, poetic and full of unpolished beauty - a musical collage that combines folk, funk, rock and punk before it all goes through an avant-garde mixer" - in these words is a Greek webzine Skylight described the new album New Gondoliers, Art Cartel, which the band will present at the Croatian House Split at a concert on May 14th.
New Gondoliers is a musical project of an actor and mime artist Alen Čelić, through which he decided to channel his unquestionable singer-songwriter talent, teaming up with drummer Veljko Popović to record the songs that Čelić wrote throughout his long career.
Already on the debut Escape Town, released during the turbulent period of the coronavirus pandemic in the summer of 2021, presented their sonic manifesto, which mixes contemporary alternative country with Lou Reed's New York street indie, relocating it to the local geography of the Dalmatian hinterland by Tin Ujević and Arsen Dedić. The result is Anglophone Mediterranean Americana performed at a high level.
At the beginning of this year New Gondoliers have also announced their second studio release, Art Cartel, where they raised their authorial expression to a higher level and thus further attracted the attention of domestic and foreign critics, who greeted them with sincere enthusiasm and high ratings immediately after the album's release.
Edgar Allan Poets so they compare the vocals to Bob Dylan in his younger days, and Indie Dock Music Blog writes about "10 original songs that captivate with their authenticity and charisma." Critic National Dubravko Jagatić also does not hide his enthusiasm: "An irresistibly cheerful album with a unique southern, Dalmatian approach to Americana and country, in which influences from Fun Lovin' Criminals, early Talking Heads, and even LCD Soundsystem are intertwined. Simple, breezy, and infectiously warm."
Special interest related to Art Cartel there is also the information that he mastered it Howie Weinberg, winner of twenty Grammy Awards, a man whose desk has produced albums by legendary musicians such as, for example, jazz great Herbie Hancock, alt-rock diva PJ Harvey or a famous singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and numerous records in production Rick Rubin – from hip-hop pioneers such as RUN DMC i Beastie Boys to the rock titan Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Sat Vineyard, who, among others, mastered the biggest hit of alternative rock of the nineties, Nirvana Nevermind, za Art Cartel he says he is extremely cool and an entertaining record, which is not just a courtesy comment, but an undeniable fact. From the very introduction with the title track, it is a playful and melodic excursion through the pop culture landscape in which Čelić speaks critically, but also sympathetically, about the psychological characteristics of life in a Dalmatian town.
New Gondoliers live, they really benefit from the frontman's many years of stage experience - from the costuming and interplay of the musicians to the imposing break dance points - and all this makes them a group whose performances are more attractive than the average and less directed concerts of their counterparts.
They will perform their songs and the accompanying show New Gondoliers present on home turf, at the Croatian House Split, on May 14th, when their fellow citizens and guests will have the opportunity to see for themselves that they have a band on their streets that they can be very proud of. It is time for their artistic cartel to take a prominent place on the domestic music scene - a place they deserve.
The New Gondoliers are:
More about the band: www.newgondoliers.eu
