JAVVA

Five years since their debut, Piotr Bukowski, Łukasz Jędrzejczak, Bartek Kapsa, Macio Moretti, and Mikołaj Zieliński return to deliver the content which expands the themes of Balance of Decay in every direction. If one could list all the projects these musicians have been part of, it would cover almost the entire last quarter-century of Polish alternative music. But let’s not dwell on the past, because... We don’t have much time, we hear in the album’s opening track. Time is chasing us, says the last. There’s something to that – rush seems to be the constituting element of the album, the restless impatience bordering on nervousness. It wouldn’t hurt though for the listener to take plenty of time, as Pícaros will reward those listeners who’ll dedicate long hours to explore its many layers; each listen revealing something new. At first, simple contact with its pure energy alone should be satisfying enough – in the same way when you don’t need to analyze the water’s composition as a wave tips your boat. Soon, your feet will work out the groove of its complex rhythms, though the dense sound and sharp turns may take a moment for your mind to catch up. The next phase would be discovering the inspirations and references which have shaped JAVVA’s musical identity. Rooted in Bydgoszcz and the creative freedom of Lado ABC, the album also nods to math rock, post-hardcore from America, Saharan guitars, and harmonicas from the Bosphorus.