Record Reviews

NIECHEC ~ NIECHEC WYTWORNIA KRAJOWA 12 (Barcode: 602547867445) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the second album by Polish ensemble NiechecFind albums by this artist, which comprises of saxophonist Maciej ZwierzchowskiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Rafal BlaszczakFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Tomasz WielechowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej SzczepanskiFind albums by this artist (who replaced Stefan NowakowskiFind albums by this artist, who played on the debut album) and drummer Michal KaczorekFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original instrumental pieces, composed four each by Zwierzchowski and Wielechowski. Stylistically the music continues the direction offered by the debut, which is an amalgam of many different sub-genres, and moves between Jazz-Rock Fusion, Electronic & Ambient, Alternative Rock, etc. but manages to avoid being placed in a narrow niche and proposes a unique path. Less dominated by the saxophone front line than the debut, this album allows the other members of the ensemble to make their own statements as well, especially the keyboards. Although perhaps less surprising (obviously) than the debut album, which was truly shocking, this one offers a more mature, developed material, which captivates the listener with its hypnotic repetitive riffs and dark sound. The Free Form saxophone parts are the most fascinating expressions of the album, but those are kept in check, balanced my melancholic melody lines. The extreme dynamics this album proposes, from soft subdued passages to fierce instrumental screams is the most distinctive feature of this music. Whichever way one wants to look at Niechec as a group and this album as their statement, it is obvious they are definitely one of the most interesting young Polish groups on the scene, with this album sealing their position securely. Hopefully they will get international recognition soon, as they deserve it by all means. Their live show, which sadly I have still not had the pleasure to attend, should be a most vibrant experience. There´s nothing left for me to do other than recommend this album wholeheartedly, hoping the listeners won´t miss this splendid opportunity to discover fascinating and highly original music, which happens rarely these days. Well done!

Updated: 16/03/2025Posted: 21/05/2016

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NIECHEC ~ RECKLESS THINGS AUDIO CAVE 2025/003 (Barcode: 5908298549971) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Ambient Fusion Recorded: 2023 Released: 2025 This is the 4th album by Polish ensemble NiechecFind albums by this artist, a quintet comprising of saxophonist Alex ClovFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Alex Clov BaczkowskiFind albums by this artist, who replaced the founding member Maciej ZwierzchowskiFind albums by this artist), keyboardist Michal ZaleskiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Rafal BlaszczakFind albums by this artist, bass guitarist Maciej SzczepanskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Dominik MokrzewskiFind albums by this artist (who replaced the founding member Michal KaczorekFind albums by this artist), which means than 4/5 of the founding members are no longer members of the ensemble. The album presents nine original compositions, six composed by Clov, two by Zaleski and one by Mokrzewski. The music was recorded at the Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, offering the usual superb sound quality. Despite the dramatic lineup shifts, Niechec manages to continue its stylistic direction pretty consistently, walking on the tightrope between Jazz improvisations and Ambient / electronic instrumental music with a dark / dense sound. It is a very specific musical direction with a pretty much “take it or leave it” attitude, which has it faithful followers, but is definitely not for everyone. After all it has been fourteen years now (and four albums) since they appeared on the scene, and the “statute of limitations” expires eventually. That said, the music is still quite pleasant, inviting and I had again a good time listening to it, despite the omnipresent déjà vu feeling. Overall, it is a pleasant album for the Jazz-Ambient Fusion lovers, which offers basically no innovation or previously uncharted vistas, but is entertaining and even danceable to some extent. As mentioned above, I had a good time and this music is obviously appealing to wide younger audiences.

Updated: 16/03/2025Posted: 16/03/2025

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NIECHEC ~ SMIERC W MIEKKIM FUTERKU WYTWORNIA KRAJOWA 04 (Barcode: 5099946461025) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2011 Released: 2012 This is the debut album by the Polish ensemble NiechecFind albums by this artist ("Animosity" in Polish), which is a quintet comprising of five young musicians: saxophonist Maciej ZwierzchowskiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Rafal BlaszczakFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Tomasz WielechowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Stefan NowakowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Michal KaczorekFind albums by this artist. The album includes nine instrumental tracks, five of which were composed by Zwierzchowski, three by Nowakowski and one comes from outside the ensemble. Before this debut album the ensemble released a five-track EP, which included some of the material present here. The album´s unusual title ("Death In A Soft Fur Coat" in Polish), is the first hint as to the album being quite unusual, which is confirmed by its musical content. It is a completely new amalgam of Jazz tradition with contemporary sound and Rock heritage and could be roughly described as Jazz-Rock (for the lack of a better label), but as it crosses genres in every way imaginable, labeling this music is futile. What is important is the fact that the album is quite stunning and fresh, which is such a rare phenomenon these days. The source of the sonic side of Niechec could be perhaps tracked back to the early 1980s and the great British band MadnessFind albums by this artist, with its distinctive saxophone front-line created by Lee ThompsonFind albums by this artist. Niechec also place the saxophone right up front, and with the lack of vocals it becomes the group´s primary voice. Although the rest of the group provides mostly the background, upon which the sax parts are based, they are all great instrumentalists and they do a splendid job indeed. The acoustic piano parts by Wielechowski are especially impressive, but the rhythm section is also truly excellent. Zwierzchowski is of course the front man here and his big, strong and impressive saxophone sound dominates the music. At times the sax is multi-tracked and the sound becomes even more massive. He uses an extensive vibrato, which is rarely used these days in Jazz and surprisingly (or not) parts of his solos are quite free form, surely not what one would expect from a Rock oriented album. He is perhaps not as technically proficient as other pure Jazz players at his age, but he has a unique voice and style, which are deadly effective and stunningly fitting for this king of music. Stylistically the music is somewhere in between Jazz-Rock and Progressive Rock, with hints of contemporary cinematic music and alternative Rock. But all these labels are simple inadequate and listening in this case is the only alternative. Expect the unexpected! Overall this is one hell of a debut album and one of the best albums released so far this year on the Polish scene. If this is the opening statement by these young lads, one can hardly imagine what the future has in store for them. Kudos and good luck! Music connoisseurs should grab this at their earlier convenience.

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NIECHEC ~ UNSUBSCRIBE AUDIO CAVE 2022/004 (Barcode: 5908298549476) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Ambient Fusion Recorded: 2020 Released: 2022 This is the third album by the Polish ensemble NiechecFind albums by this artist, which comprises of saxophonist Maciej ZwierzchowskiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Rafal BlaszczakFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Michal ZaleskiFind albums by this artist (who replaced Tomasz WielechowskiFind albums by this artist, who played on the first two albums), bassist Maciej SzczepanskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Michal KaczorekFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, four by Zwierzchowski and two each by Zaleski and Szczepanski / Zaleski. The music was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and sounds great. It took Niechec again about five years to come up with a new album, which seems like a pattern. However, the music remains pretty much the same as on its predecessors, which lost much of its impact over time. The formula of busy ambient keyboards and electronics repetitive background layers, steady rhythm section support and saxophone solos on top sound like a déjà vu and as much as I love their debut album and somewhat less the sophomore effort, this album sadly offers little excitement. Yes, the melodies are fine and so is the playing, but the music mostly sounds like Neo-Prog, which develops slowly, seemingly leading to a climax, which eventually never arrives? It’s time to “change the diskette” as they used to say when people where still using diskettes. But of course this album has its moments and I suppose many listeners will find it a great listening experience, especially if one wants to lay back and relax, and there is one track that saves the day (“Chmury”), so not all is lost. Overall, this is a well-played instrumental music, mostly ambient, which is a nice listening, but fails to excite, and surely lacks the shocking elements of the debut. I still hope for something better next time!

Updated: 07/04/2022Posted: 07/04/2022

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