Novi Split / The Adrian Fortress

Split CD Vol. 2: The Lost Volume (2004)

mjh

I ended up buying this split when I saw David J. (Novi Split) in my town with City on Film. Although he was drinking like he hadn't tasted beer in years, he still put on a really good show; good enough to get me to buy the CD, anyway.

On the Novi Split end of this CD, each of the tracks, except the first, are all rather calm and quiet. The first track, "Finishing Move," is the poppiest song on here and it's a really pretty nice song all in all. It's more catchy than the others with the exception of track four, "Tiho Tiho," which is sang entirely in Croatian. And in the beginning, you'll find what sounds like one of those little pull whistles they used to use on live radio performances in the thirties. I guess it's a Croatian instrument…

The other song that stands out from David J. is "Get Me To Bed." As the title suggests, you'll likely be heading for something soft as you listen to this song. I'd tell you a little more about it, but I still haven't made it through the song.

That song leads us into the first of the two final tracks from The Adrian Fortress. The first has a near-20-minute long song titled "Honor Roll," starting out melodic enough to tie into the Novi Split song decently. As you travel through this huge epic of a song, you'll come to a place near the middle where you'll notice "This isn't the song…" as television channels are being changed for about a minute or so, and from then it will lead you back into the song for some time longer with a bit of a ballroom song. Then, it comes crashing in louder than before. To make a long story a little less long…the song is huge and will keep you interested rather than the daydreaming a song this length normally might induce.

And after all of that, you come to the end, a track titled "Marlon Brandeaux." It's a bit heavier than "Honor Roll," but no less uncommon. The entire song is basically played under soundfiles of certain people talking, sometimes understandable, sometimes not. I'll say I don't enjoy this song as much as the other, but it's not a loss.

All in all, the combination of the two bands may leave you scratching your head, but that's alright, because it's still good either way.