Dzierzynski Bitz

Don’t worry, I haven’t just spilled coffee onto my laptop causing the keyboard to malfunction – Dzierzynski Bitz are genuinely a band from Slovakia and their two-part single “Podmoskovje / Vziat’ Siloj” has received critical acclaim as well as a series of sold-out mini tours in the capitals of the surrounding states.

I can understand why from the very first chorales that eerily regales us. I’ve always been quite nostalgic to the musical styling of yesteryear, so to hear a dedicated retro single like this one was quite a funky jive-y pleasure. It almost makes you wish you were riding a Vespa with your friends on your way to a sickeningly swanky coffee bar.

Lead singer, Wojciech Dzierzynski and his musician buddies set about creating a single that deviated between Elvis Costello-esque new wave, soul, bossa nova and novy twist with pop sensibilities. Even though the names are hard to spell and the lyrics aren’t in English, the distinctly British feel of the composition would make this single quite popular on these isles…and probably on most holiday cruises too (but not necessarily in a bad way).

There’s a modern edge in there too; an upgrade on quintessential new wave with unconventional compositions and atmospheric synths that decorate wordless bridges. The “Vziat’ Siloj” section of the single even has a instrumental big band chorus composed of crashing symbols and guttural trombones in a marching two-step arrangement. This single is “out there” but, luckily, not too far that we don’t get it.