Ne Zhdali is an Estonian rock band that attained critical acclaim after the fall of the Soviet Union. They combine the outrageousness of punk with the virtuoso leanings of progressive rock and jazz fusion. The sound is very close to the musical antics of Henry Cow having similar avant-garde influences and an excellent musical wit. Their knowledge of nationalist music and folk traditions is also obvious. Though I hear they still perform, almost all of their few recordings are from the 1990s. The band’s web site offers a number of excellent albums (perhaps their entire output?) for listening and downloading. These are exciting and very listenable albums.

Their first album Rhinoceroses and Other Firms of Life was released in 1990. The tracks are divided into fast paced avant rock numbers (”Rhino”) and light jazzy farces (”Bossa”). The band’s timing and wit is extraordinary. The focus is on instrumentals but there are a few wordless vocals.

The second album, Hey Driver Cool Down The Horses exhibits a much larger traditional folk influence. The vocals borders on the outrageous and is best experienced on tracks like “Hungarian Young Years”, “Greek Maturity” and the title track. “Death of T” is another worthy track whose somber ballad gives way to a drunken romp. There is a bit of a Monty Python mentality to this music, not alway knowing where the seriousness ends and the frivolity starts.

What Ever Happens, Twist is the best of the lot. While Rhinoceroses comes close to jazz rock fusion and Hey Driver is a bit of a ethnic rock hybrid, Twist takes all these elements, adds a punk intensity, and proceeds to launch an assault on your senses. It is certainly a wild excursion as the first track screams and blasts its way into your attention. Punk, noise, rock, and folk all collide together in this delicious romp of an album. This is performance theater rock that rivals the best of Zappa and might even give Ayler-like free jazz groups a run for their money.

The other albums are not as good as the first three but still top-notch. Live Rarities Vol. 1 andTokyo, Nov. 25, 2002 offers glimpses of their high energy shows. Pollo D’Orois almost as good as Twist. However, if I was to pick one of these albums, I would say go for Whatever Happens, Twist, a forgotten masterpiece of rock music.

All albums listed below are available in 128kbps MP3. You’ll will find even more music here. I chose to exclude the others because the Mp3 quality is only 96kbps. However they are all worth hearing. If you enjoy the music support the artists by purchasing their CDs if you are lucky enough to find them!

Download
Rhinoceroses and other forms of life
Hey Driver Cool Down The Horses
Whatever Happens, Twist
Pollo d’Oro
Live Rarities Vol.1
Tokyo, Nov.25, 1998