SZTYWNY PAL AZJI - "EUROPA I AZJA" (1987)

Led by singer Leszek Nowak and guitar player Jarosław Kisiński, Sztywny Pal Azji was one of the key bands of that second Polish post-punk movement which I mentioned recently (just think to Róże Europy, Ziyo, Kult, and so on).

This is their debut album, and it contains a dozen of eclectic songs which mix a loud new wave sound with unplugged arrangements (piano, acoustic guitars, congas), sometimes recurring to a bit of rock&roll energy. Faster songs emanate the choral sense of power pop, while the slower ones are soaked by an epic atmosphere, both decadent and romantic (they kinda remind me to the British martial folk movement which was coming out at the same time).

"Europa i Azja" was a mainstream success in Poland, with epic songs such as "Wieża radości wieża samotności" (transl. "Tower of joy, tower of solitude") and "Spotkanie z..." (also known as "Nie gniewaj się na mnie Polsko", transl. "Don't be angry with me, Polish") reaching respectively no. 1 and no. 2 in the LP3 chart. They both remain two of the most popular songs of the Eighties there.

Other notable moments include "Przybycie Makbeta" (five minutes of absolute darkness), "Twoja imitacja" (with its rhythmic whirlwind), and "Kurort" (a chameleon punk-folk operetta). 

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