Babayaga Ojo brings punk to Poland
Written by James Wall
Babayaga Ojo
Sila
A punk band from Poland? WTF? Well, why not. The massive impact of the Ramones and the Sex Pistols branched to millions of alienated kids throughout the world, and surely Poland wouldn’t be immune from punk’s spell. In the case of Babayaga Ojo, we’re actually late in the game; this band has been kicking around with line-up changes since the ’80s. Better late than never. And they actually sound like they’re from that era, the days when joining a punk band wasn’t something that you did as a career move. In other words, Babayaga Ojo don’t sound like Green Day.
I don’t understand a single word on this CD but I couldn’t care less. “Rozbrojenie” is pure Class of ‘77 British punk a la Sham 69 and the like. It’ll leave razor burns on your skin. “Balon” injects surf riffage in the punk mix while “Londyn” flirts with ska dynamics without recalling Rancid at all, surprisingly. The energy level is intoxicating, especially the pummeling drums throughout the record and the ripping guitars on “Zadyma” and “Teatrzyk.” You don’t need a translator to know when a band is rocking on all cylinders.
Rating: 8/10
