We haven't had a band from Serbia on ramtatta.de that often. Serbia isn't really associated with much. Right-wing, nationalist opinions perhaps. A fierce struggle over Kosovo. We've seen and heard all of this in the media before. And so, perhaps this opinion has cemented itself in one or another mind and developed into a dislike.
But THE DETONATORS show that not all people in Serbia are assholes.
The band has been around since 2010 and since then, yes since then, the band shows what a rake is.
The five men probably absorbed everything that looked even remotely like punk rock in their youth. They cite influences like Social Distortion, Rancid, Flogging Molly, or The Pogues. Stylistically, California punk meets folk here.
I'm slowly getting to the point where I've somewhat tuned out this folk-punk scene because nowadays every third-rate combo plays this sound.
With THE DETONATORS, it's somehow different (as with the new album from The Stanfields, which I recently reviewed). Of course, the folk element is audible, with mandolin and accordion they also have two classic instruments of this style in the band. However, they wonderfully combine the folk element with lively, really catchy melodies. This can best be described as The Pogues meet California punk.
Skaters meet Jack Daniels. Good vibes meet alcohol, the good-vibe maker.
What lies behind “My World” are personal lyrics from a band that has been consistently following its path since 2010 and loves and needs what they do like air to breathe. Being on tour is for the band, besides the evening concert, also a way to break out of a country where not everything is good by far, and in which the majority might actually be as mentioned in the introduction.
Perhaps this has given the band that certain something, the unyielding will to move people with their music, to inspire with their music. The eleven songs on the record testify to playful skill, a knack for melodies, and the knowledge of how a song must be to be exciting. Aleksandar Smuk, responsible for the vocals, has the perfect voice for it. It sounds smoky, raspy but clear enough that you can understand it.
The songs are arranged in such a way that they would already carve themselves into your brain in a sober state, making you immediately want to dance and have a few beers. Once the first beers have been consumed, nothing stands in the way of a merry party. THE DETONATORS provide the soundtrack for it, and they do it in such a way that you can’t get enough of it.
