If you like woahs – in an Xmal Deutschland kind of way (not a Danzig way) – and you are a big mid-eighties Siouxsie and the Banshees fan, Belgrado, a revered post-punk revivalist project based in Barcelona is definitely made for you. The formation, comprised of a Pole, a Brit, and two Venezuelan ex-pats who met each other in Spain, has made its mark on the worldwide scene during the last decade with extensive touring in Europe and the Americas, and now have four rock-solid albums under their belt, including their latest offering to the world: Intra Apogeum.
Compared to their previous albums, 2011’s Belgrado, 2013’s Siglo XXI, and 2016’s Obraz, which all had a more anarcho-punk and dark post-punk feel to them, the Quatuor seem to have found inspiration elsewhere completely this time. The music paints minutious and timelessly modern musical motifs giving their sound an Art Deco and/or Bauhaus makeover. Add a splash of EDM and a touch of neo-psychedelia in the mix and what you get is the aural equivalent of a Kandinsky painting.
With basslines groovier than ever, the intricacies of the signature ultra-delayed guitar intertwining with a ton of very infectious synth melodies, the bouncing of the drum machine disco beats punctuated with reverbed percussions and the soft ethereal vocals, sung in singer Patrycja Proniewska’s maternal polish tongue, Intra Apogeum feels like a tall glass of water after a long afternoon of swimming in the sea. Even though the band was originally influenced by genres like coldwave and darkwave, this record feels extremely warm and luminous.
So if you are looking for the perfect soundtrack for your next goth beach party, look no further; Intra Apogeum will make your happiest friends feel melancholy while simultaneously making your moodiest friends want to dance for once. A truly ideal situation.
