10. Javva – Picaros (Mystic Production)
There couldn’t be a more obvious statement about today’s music than noting how it broke free from the limitations of styles. Blues and black metal, emo and jazz, electroclash and nu-metal – everything’s possible, and yet now and then, an album that sheds light on common points linking two or more genres that no one would have even thought might mix comes along.
Picaros is one such release. Javva take listeners on a trip to Indonesia, Turkey, northern Africa, and South America, but not only the influences that can be marked on a map are important here. Rock, punk, and sometimes even free jazz in many variations are equally important. Covering such a wide range of interests involves the risk of simplifying the sound references. Still, the Warsaw group avoided superficiality and created bangers that call to the dancefloor based on extensive musical material rooted in traditions from all over the globe.
9. Koza x Kuba Więcek – Noc żywych trupów (Kxntrst)
Kuba Więcek is the young generation of jazz musicians and one of the most interesting saxophonists. On the Themes of Dracula album (in a duet with Piotr Orzechowski), in his trio, and especially under the name Hoshii, he follows his path, but that’s not all. A few years ago, Więcek became known as perhaps the most original hip-hop producer in Poland, and he found a perfect partner in Koza – not only a skilled lyricist who can credibly depict loneliness in a big city with well-selected words but also a versatile rapper with a characteristic voice sound. No one should expect anything less from two such creative heads than an album on the level of Noc żywych trupów (“Night of the Living Dead”).
8. Antonina Car & Niczos – Toń (Coastline Northern Cuts)
Antonina Car debuted in 2022 with a superb solo album, Immersed Sensibilities, where she squeezed something fresh out of the already worn-out formula of modern classical played on an acoustic instrument paired with electronics (or “smooth classical”). It was very accessible and free from apparent solutions at the same time.
The next release she recorded in a duet with Nika Jurczuk (aka Niczos), a vocalist and violinist popularizing music traditions from the Podlasie region, using the local micro-language (pudlaśka mova) and proving that even the very distant past can say a lot about the present. Toń (Briny) is a perfect example of this – it seems to exist not in a specific place on the timeline but in a space where everything can simultaneously coexist.
7. Bled – Terra Incognita (Alpaka)
In 1980, Jon Hassell and Brian Eno attempted to combine primitivism with futurism on the album Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics, but this barely outlined concept was never fully formed. Until now. Emil Miszk and Sławek Koryzno, using similar instrumentation – a trumpet subjected to extensive signal distortion, an almost rock drum sound, Moog Rogue, modular synthesizers, and various effects – created music that is decidedly more diverse, ranging from barely audible noises to aggressive beats. Bled updated Hassell and Eno’s idea, adding to the kaleidoscope of influences the only thing that could still be discovered and make someone stand out – their own identity exposed in an authentic, simple, but not trivial way.
6. Dola – Tabernakulum (Piranha Music)
If there wasn’t enough evidence that the most engaging form of black metal comes out of well-fed with music of all kinds brains, Dola (Polish for Lot or Fate) must be the definitive one. Tabernakulum is the band’s third record, and again, one listening is enough to feel stuck with the amusement. This, back in the 1990s, seen as a raw, primitive, and aggressive aesthetic, keeps surprising with how far beyond their initial sound it can be stretched. It shouldn’t be surprising after checking who’s behind Dola – not only enthusiasts of metal of all kinds but also people associated with the electronic club scene, creating music for video games or playing in an improvised orchestra.
5. Błoto – Grzybnia (Astigmatic)
All the musicians of Błota (“Mud” in Polish) are part of EABS, and one might wonder why they need an additional group when the formula of the other is so wide open, and on top of that, both come out of the jazz scene. As proven by three previous records – released in less than 12 months in 2020 and 2021 – and the latest one, published after a three-year studio break, these four musicians are plagued by a monstrous creative drive that would probably find an outlet in several more joint bands.
Grzybnia (Mycelium) is the most internally diverse material in the quartet’s discography. During these 40 minutes, it’s easy to find the right background for a trip into outer space and, simultaneously, the right mood for crazy dance or diving into the inner world with the eyes glued to the sky.
4. Calamaze – Calamaze (Wytwórnia Tematy)
The music and popular culture of the 1990s are back for good and have also returned to Poland. Nevertheless, this period was very different here, and the music reflected that. The Iron Curtain had just fallen after the collapse of communism, and previously unavailable or illegally imported foreign albums began to be widely available.
That’s one of the reasons why Polish bands haven’t resembled their American or British counterparts. Still, Calamaze, debuting in 2024, draw heavily on Midwest emo, grunge, or simply alternative rock from the last decade of the 20th century. The result is not imitative, however, and once you let the exceptionally catchy melodies and the delicate, very original vocals of Anastazja Krewniak into your ears, it is hard not to loop these songs for weeks.
3. Dead Tahiti – Fala (Bat-Cave Productions / Pasażer / Iskra Cassettes)
This list alone shows that post-punk and coldwave with a 1980s flavor are doing very well in Poland nowadays. There’s a wide selection of bands, many of which consist of musicians in their 20s. However, the more experienced line-up of Dead Tahiti has a significant, outstanding additional asset – an exceptional talent for melodies. On the one hand, their catchy choruses are full of melancholy and sometimes even sadness, on the other, can be so captivating that it is difficult to sit still and oppose the desire to hit the dancefloor. It turns out it’s not that hard to dance and cry simultaneously.
2. Coals – Sanatorium (PIAS Recordings)
Coals’ anti-bangers may sound familiar, but while trying to name a genre, style, or other album they refer to, the right word always slips away, and it’s impossible to find a different one that would stick to the music of Sanatorium for more than a few seconds. The constant transformations are not as rapid as in the hyperpop’s breakneck blends of everything with everything. The Polish duo specialize in subtleties over which they draw a dreamlike curtain. It’s a very danceable record, but also so much more. Give the Coals the man, and they will give him or her whatever they need from the music.
1. Marek Pospieszalski Octet & Zoh Amba – Now! (Instant Classic)
Although the octet is a large ensemble, for Marek Pospieszalski, it’s an ideal formula for expanding his work to include collaborations with other artists, and Zoh Amba, as one of the most expressive saxophonists in contemporary jazz and an improviser open to many aesthetics, has found her place in this concept perfectly. The music from Now! is based on notes, but written parts are nothing more than guidelines outlining the area within which nine outstanding instrumentalists freely improvised.
What came out of it can often be attributed to the adjectives “beautiful”, “calming” or “moving”, and at the same time, it’s not an easy and accessible release that will allow being pushed into the background. It dictates the terms the listeners need to follow to appreciate the band’s courage and restraint – it’s not easy to play less when you can play almost everything. The effort will be rewarded with the entrance to a unique universe of sounds.