It’s happening. Slowly but surely, the alternative music scene is surfacing in Latvia. It used to be that I’d hear a music clip of some no-name punk band and I would want to cry. It was that bad. Oh, sure, there were groups that put out a good effort, but all they got were screaming (singing) and terrible static (music) that was unclear and unsatisfying. However, the group Iedomu Spārni with their debut album Dienasgrāmata could teach the struggling wannabes a thing or two. Call me crazy, but I think there’s just something about clarity to vocals and instrumentals that makes sense.

When the compact disc arrived in the mail, it was like Christmas. Each track held something different and likable. With a mixture of peppy punk rock, dark rock, regular rock, moving ballads, a bit of funk, and songs that could very well be numbers in a musical, Iedomu Spārni completely blew away my expectations.

The group, formed in 2000 by Ieva Zēģele, Jānis Dreiškins and Jānis Kuršs, likes to experiment with their talents and resources, making for a sound that is never repetitive and far from boring. Lead singer Zēģele has vocals that match that of Evanescence’s lead vocalist Amy Lee; Iedomu Spārni even has a few tracks that remind me of Evanescence and other dark rock groups. The only difference is that instead of depressing lyrics about loneliness and heartache, Iedomu Spārni carries more of the angstful “take that” or “you’ll be sorry later” feel that so many punk bands have. Perhaps the best way to describe them at this point is as a “dark punk” band (think Finch or Brand New).

Also appearing on the album is keyboardist Alīna Melngaile, who was with the band from 2002-2004. Now in her place, according to the band’s Web site, is guitarist Toms Skujiņš.

The first track on the album, “Zaiga,” is the song I think would fit in a rock-musical. It’s a song about how love screws with one’s brain, but with carefree and fun lyrics put to rock music. I can just imagine a large group of people dancing on stage in perfect time. Right off the bat, the thing that I like the most is that I can hear the guitar, bass guitar, percussion, keyboard, and… and… no synthesizer?  What?! Amazing! This caught me off guard. Then again, it’s only the first track. Maybe it’s a waste to think it could last. Wrong.

Track two, one of my favorites, starts out with a funky guitar and percussion duet. It immediately gets the head-bobbing response. This song is a motivational speech about not letting what others think or say get to you. Perfect, considering the song is called “Dumpinieku dziesmiņa” (Rebel Song). With this song not only do I like the continuing lack of synthesizer, but I like that even though this is a song about rebellion, it’s not your run-of-the-mill, “damn the man” rebellion. The main point is to live for yourself: “Ja vēlies kļūt par enģeli, uzadi sev spārnus / Ja gribi aizmirst neveiksmes – meklē citus vārtus / Kad jūties slikti – skaļi bļauj /un neļauj, lai Tev neatļauj!”

Right on!

Track three, “Nāc man līdz,” is another one of my favorites. The vocals start out smoothly and quietly, but with the feeling that they’re being pushed tempo-wise, if even the tiniest bit. Then, at one minute and 16 seconds it all breaks loose. Ripping vocals filled with emotion with instrumentals to match. Unfortunately, the fast-paced section of the album is pretty much over at this point. The rest of the CD, starting with track four, is more sonorous and ballad-like, bringing out that bit of dark-rock. Iedomu Spārni proves very well that they can play many different styles and emotions.

For a few of the later tracks the band even brought in some outside help. For track 10, “Enģeļu čuksti,” the group was joined by the string quartet of the Jāzeps Mediņš Music College to create a very moving and beautiful track, making it one of the best on the entire album. And on the last track, a remix of track eight, “Glāb,” Latvian rapper Gustavo lends a hand, adding an interesting new twist to the original.

From a clean cut-looking band to a sound that rocks, Iedomu Spārni is a welcome addition to my CD collection. The final thing I enjoyed about this album is that there are no English tracks to be found. At this point, I don’t think they need to attempt any, but if they do, I hope it’s good. Either way, from my mind to my heart to me standing on my desk chair, to Iedomu Spārni and their first album, a standing ovation.

Once upon a time I was used to the idea that the Latvian music world would take a while to get the hang of more mainstream popular music genres. Then, while in Latvia in December, I heard Nicol’s “Melns un balts” play on the radio. The song immediately caught my attention, and I wondered: since when did Latvian R&B exist? How did it come off sounding so good? Who is this singer? I personally don’t listen to R&B artists that often, much less favor them. I was even a bit embarrassed to admit that I liked “Melns un balts.” Since then I’ve listened to her album countless times and have overcome my embarrassment to the point that, when I’m sure no one else is around, I sing along.

Nicol just recently made her debut as a professional singer. Before releasing her newest album Melns un balts in November 2003 (her first Latvian album, preceded in August by a three-song “single” and a full-length album, both mostly in Russian) she sang in clubs, won an award in a new artists’ competition in 2000 in Belarus, and was a finalist in Latvia’s 2002 Eirodziesma competition with her self-written “One More Dance,” according to MICREC’s Web site.

It turns out the album Melns un balts isn’t an R&B album, but rather a mixture of R&B, pop, dance and sometimes a hint of 1980s rock. For me, the first time listening to the compact disc was spent complaining. Eventually I did become used to the overall feel of the album—after the 30th or so time playing it, the music seemed totally normal. Why had I been complaining?

The beginning of the first track on the album, “Noktirne,” reminds me of any song from Vivo, a 2001 album of works composed by Uldis Marhilevičs (released by UPE Recording Co.): footsteps on a gravel path and distant-sounding, airy music. Definitely not R&B. But it’s not a bad sound, either, so I kept away from the “skip track” button and continued listening. The second track, “Ja būsim kopā,” isn’t too bad, either. The lyrics to this song are written by Nicol. Actually, out of the 26 songs on her three albums, Nicol has written the lyrics for 12. This, as far as I know, is also rather atypical of an R&B artist. It’s admirable.

Realization sets in quickly: Nicol, point blank, can sing. I can understand, for the first time, why she has been called “Latvia’s Christina Aguilera.” Nicol’s vocals soar (she took opera lessons in high school), no matter the style of music she’s singing. She easily adapts to the genre of the individual song: soothing ballad, upbeat pop, and offbeat or syncopated R&B. There are neither harsh breaks in her voice as she belts out lyrics in the more intense tracks, nor are there overly sugary stretches in the calmer melodies. It’s a balance that’s refreshing to hear.

The third track is the popular “Melns un balts.” R&B all the way, it’s a very catchy “in your face” song about a failed relationship and finding independence. This track and I had a bumpy beginning. At first I liked it. Then I was frustrated at how much more striking it would have been had there been a heavier bass beat and less synthesizer. The beginnings of a truly captivating R&B song were there, but I still felt empty after listening to it. Now we’re friends again, and the lyrics often stay in my mind: “…Un tad Tu man teici, ka viss būs savādāk / bez pārsteigumiem / bez baltiem ielūgumiem / bez kompromīziem un velns / nav nemaz tik ļauns un melns…”

Go ahead, hit the “back” button, listen to the song again. As lame as it may sound, it’s fun to hear Latvian lyrics set to R&B music.

Later on the album hits some tough spots. While listening to track six, “Pieskaries man,” all I could think of was Sweden’s disco-pop group Ace of Base.

The final track is “One More Dance.” The lyrics sound rushed, but the music and vocals somewhat make up for what ends up being a choppy, grammatically sinful song. The lyrics are choppy, the spelling in the insert appears to be incorrect, and if you pay attention too much, the song makes little sense: “…put your hands around me / ‘couse it feels so right / I wanna be surrounded / with your love tonight / if that’s for one night stand / you’re moving fast / don’t forse me make an and / and turn this dance into last…”

Word for word, from the insert. I see Nicol as another artist who should either stay away from singing in English, or have a text editor who knows what he or she is doing. The Latvian lyrics make sense, of course.

One of my favorite tracks other than “Melns un balts” is track four, “Aiziet vieglāk,” which is a beautiful and soulful song, but doesn’t hold back any of Nicol’s amazing vocals. She manages to work a few belt-outs in there. Another favorite is track 10, “Dzīvoš’ ilgi, ne tik ilgi.” It’s a Latvian folk song put to modern music. The overall effect is kind of eerie, quite unlike the folk song remakes of such artists as the girl group 4.elements and the long-gone techno-inspired Saule.

All in all, I’m surprised and pleased at what Nicol has to offer, and I look forward to her future projects.

When first looking through the liner of R.A.P.‘s new compact disc, 2, I felt like someone was trying to play with my mind. R.A.P. isn’t a rap group, as its name might suggest, but an alternative rock band. And instead of looking like a stereotypical rock band, the picture in the disc jacket portrays a group I would expect to be singing a song by the Doobie Brothers. Thankfully, first impressions aren’t always everything.

R.A.P. (originally called Rāpuļi ar putniem) is a four-member band that has been playing together since the mid-1990s. Members include singer A.D. (Artis Varionas), bassist Masters (Artis Rozītis), guitarist Štro (Aleksandrs Štro) and drummer Gatis L. (Gatis Lagzdenieks). 2, the group’s third album, was preceded by the 2001 album Feel? and the 1999 album Vanilla.

In Latvia, the group’s song “Nekas vairs nav tā” not only held a spot in Radio SWH’s Top 40 for 22 consecutive weeks, but was also ranked as the most-played song across the nation’s radio stations. Only to confirm R.A.P.‘s growing popularity, in 2002 “Nekas vairs nav tā” received the award for Latvia’s best modern rock song.

The album includes 13 tracks in English and three “bonus” tracks in Latvian.

The beginning of the first track, “Looking Stone,” holds promise. The elements of rock are present: a riff from a bass guitar starts out, the lead guitar enters and takes over, soon followed by drums. It’s good, really good. The singing adds on, and everything seems to fall into place.

But when I listened to the lyrics, which, while serious and belted out in an alternative rock manner, made no sense: “…Walk on by, shove and flee, Happen still to call your name, Looking small, all night long, Laughing tall, she saw what?…”

Don’t we all experience this scenario at some point? I was left thinking, “They said what?” Minus the lyrics, the song is acceptable.

The rest of the album wavers between alternative rock and what I would label as “light metal.” The music stays consistently excellent, reminding me of a mixture of American groups such as Linkin Park and Incubus. My favorite tracks—for purely instrumental reasons—from the main part of the album are 7 and 12. Track 7, “Touch in the Night,” starts out with a kind of tribal-sounding instrument. Its riff is then transferred to bass guitar and is heard throughout the entire song. My only regret is that the original instrument is not used again.

Track 12, “Scabs of the World,” is instrumentally fulfilling. The song is anything but boring, as the center of interest of the track switches from bass to vocal to lead guitar to all instrumental and vocal. The vocals, however, don’t stand out. Nothing’s wrong with the voice—the talent and angst are clear. Unfortunately, in this and other songs, the vocals don’t seem to be the focus of the songs. They’re hard to hear and don’t jump out enough to be appreciated. It seems like they’ve been added only to provide a bit of icing to the cake that is the instrumentals.

However, after listening to the three bonus tracks, I was left with the impression that vocalist A.D. is more comfortable singing in Latvian. And—big surprise—the lyrics made sense. Another thing that finally made sense is why R.A.P. was ranked so high in Latvia with “Nekas vairs nav tā.” It’s a perfectly developed rock song. The music is not too fast, nor too slow. The consistent tempo is easy to get into and makes your head bob. The vocals aren’t off the wall and insane. They’re calm and soulful, and when put together with the somewhat “screamed” vocals of the chorus, they left a happy humming in my brain—an alt-rock warm fuzzy. If R.A.P. keeps putting out songs of this caliber, then for them viss vienmer būs tā.