SBB are a Polish progressive rock band with a strong blues influence fronted by Jozef Skrzek who have been going, on and off, since 1971. With various break-ups and problems out of the way, the band have been working hard to develop their sound and fan base throughout the 2000’s and with the release of ‘Blue Trance’ they look set to attract a whole new audience with their uniquely laid-back take on blues-orientated progressive rock.
Over the first three tracks, SBB come on as a mixture of Genesis, latter-day Pink Floyd (think the fluid solos of ‘Momentary lapse of reason’ rather than the mental experimentation of ‘meddle’) and Steve Lukather ranging through the instrumental opening ‘Etiuda Trance’, the Polish radio-rock of ‘Los Czlowieka’ to the lengthy jam of ‘red Joe’ which sees a rare side-step into English and some amazing guitar work that sounds both beautifully fluid and carefully improvised rather than clinically mapped-out in advance. Indeed, the guitar work is utterly phenomenal and even if you are scared off by the idea of the band singing in Polish (which would be a shame as it is a beautiful language) then you’d have to be closed-minded indeed to deny the sublime guitar work on display here. ‘Swieto Dioni’sees things take a jazzy turn with Jozef’s guitar set to off-kilter rhythms and rippling piano. It’s warm and now without merit, but the bluesier tracks tend to work better as they have a greater edge to them, although the closing synth part is straight out of Yes. ‘Szczescie jak na Dloni’ (I’d like to apologise to Poles here for taking such appalling liberties with their language, but there’s no way for me to call those letters up on my laptop so all spellings have been Anglicized) is a ballad track which is strangely part ‘don’t cry’, part lift music. It’s certainly not bad, but it may rile the more metal-orientated readers here although the guitar work is, once again, stunning.
Possibly the strangest song in the set is the wilfully twee ‘Doliny Strumieni’ which recalls the nursery rhyme-laden aspects of early Genesis and which is guaranteed to win respect and teeth-grinding hatred in equal measure. It’s certainly an odd choice for the centrepiece of an album that has, to this point, been quite straight forward and contemporary, but it’s also a brave track that gets you to sit up and listen thanks to its eccentric character and some expert guitar work at its heart. ‘Karida beach’ also draws comparisons with Genesis, but rather with the Phil Collins led pop-orientated band of the nineties than the eccentric Peter Gabriel oddities of the seventies. It has a satisfying edge lurking in the distorted snarl of the guitars though and it will undoubtedly lease fans of vaguely progressive soft rock thanks to the excellent musicianship displayed throughout. ‘Blue trance’ is a highlight as it sees SBB pushing the tempo into a more rocky environment than the previous few tracks and as a result the guitar has more opportunity to shine, as does Jozef’s gritty vocals. It’s a great track that shows the blues-infused soul that lies at the heart of SBB and reminds you that from time to time they just want to rock! ‘Musniecie Kalimby’ calms things down again with a return to the synth dominated Pink Floydisms of the earlier tracks and while it’s an interesting song, it feels a little disappointing after the quick-stepping title track.
The final two tracks demonstrate the best of SBB. ‘Pamieci Czas’ is an emotive piano-led track that simmers beautifully and once again reminds the listener how poetic the Polish language is, while ‘Coda trance’ is a dark, imaginative closer that draws the multiple threads of the album together nicely though symphonic voices, spacey sound effects and lush guitar work.
Overall SBB are something of a shock in this day and age. A throwback to the time when bands like Genesis could straddle the globe, there’s an intelligence at work that never lets the album succumb to fashion or expectation and a confidence that assumes (and rightly so, for Polish fans are wonderfully loyal) that there will be an audience for the band’s music even if not quite all of their experiments go well. Undoubtedly this is a brave, adventurous album. Multiple styles and genres are attempted, the majority very well, and the record as a whole never sounds disjointed as the musicianship is of the very highest calibre. SBB are a much loved, and deservedly so, institution in Polish music and within this album you can hear a surfeit of inspiration expertly played and passionately delivered. Hints of Pink Floyd, Genesis, Porcupine Tree and Dream theatre all pass through the mix along with healthy doses of both Jazz and blues and the ultimate result is an album that will appeal to music fans of all denominations. For those with an open mind and an adventurous streak, this is an album you should certainly check out.
