Release year: 2024
Label: Zoharum/Ubocze Records

Eh, talk about a tough album to review. Not only is it another piece of weirdness from our friends at Zoharum, it’s also another album entirely in Polish. And apparently something of a concept album at that, with lyrics in a central role.

And I don’t speak a word of Polish.

But let’s not let that dishearten and dissuade us from reviewing this, Galaktyka Mięsa’s second album. It’s not like dilettantism would have been an obstacle in the past!

Beyond the vocals – which really are in a central role on many tracks – Lejek Bólu is broadly speaking some kind of electro-industrial. In other words, synthesizers playing driving, menacing melodies, rhythmic percussions and the lot. But not only that; indeed, Lejek Bólu is a cornucopia of this and that within a loose, more than slightly experimental electronic/industrial framework.

This means ominous and eerie passages of understated synth; the occasional more abstract, industrial ambient section; and so on. Wielki Hipnotyzer and its simplistic, repetitive melody sounds almost like the soundtrack to some old horror video game from the 90’s. Von Hutten is a weird, percussion driven piece, with almost martial bombast in the drumming.

There’s a lot going for Lejek Bólu. It sounds good, it’s very varied, and tracks such as Arka with its high intensity, menacing synths – again reminiscent of some old video game – are truly good. But still, there’s that hole in there: the vocals, the lyrics, the Polish I just don’t understand. And try as they might, Galaktyka Mięsa don’t quite manage to rise above that. On the other hand, I’m not sure if they do try very hard: perhaps this is an album intended for Polish speaking audiences. And that’s something I don’t scoff at in the slightest.

But it does mean people like me won’t get the most out of Lejek Bólu. And despite its many positive aspects, the centrality of vocals in many tracks and the fact that I don’t understand them means that the album leaves me a bit cold.

If you like electro/industrial and speak Polish, do check this out. If either of the previous don’t apply to you – approach with care.

Visit Galaktyka Mięsa on Facebook