• Croatia
• Noise
• Post-rock
• shoegaze
• Tús Nua

Published on 27/09/2022 11:00 am

You’d be excused for thinking that a band with an Irish name Tús Nua does not belong in this here show. After all, Gaelige (or some archaic version thereof) was last spoken in the Balkans around 23 centuries ago. But that is exactly what two young Croatian post-rockers call themselves.

Croatian post-rockers with an Irish twist

By the standards of Balkan Express, Tús Nua are a relatively young band. The name means “fresh start” in Irish and should not be confused with an Irish band of the same name. Just so you know. Croatian Tús Nua technically spawned in 2014. It took them three years to come up with a debutante album. But when they did, the won all sorts of accolades and praise. Both from critics and fans.

On the whole, Tús Nua are a rare combination of post-rock, noise and shoegaze, with an occasional dream pop cherry on top. The legendary US indie radio station KEXP called them dirty-post-rock, just to keep it simple. At any rate, the band started out as an all-female trio. But when bass player Mateja Milivoj quit after the release of their first album, guitarists and vocalists Jordi Ilič and Jelena Božić continued in their present line-up.

Sophomore album challenge

Horizons, Tús Nua 2017 debutante album could prove a tough act to follow. What with all the praise it received. But apparently the by then down-by-one group had loads more to tell. Case in point being their sophomore album titled “Nothing Personal”. Even more minimalist than the first one, Tús Nua’s second album has all the hallmarks of a mature musical experience by a band that knows what they’re doing.

Rules of physics apply even to Tús Nua. Meaning that it is hard for a pair of vocalists on guitars and synth to do anything else in the band. Which is why they usually outsource percussion and bass when they tour. And they do tour. Or rather, they have toured a lot, including gigs in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Obviously, touring was a bit hard over the last couple of years due to the plague. Which is why album Nothing Personal has not seen such a wide exposure as its antecedent. Hopefully however, that will change in the near future. Until then, enjoy their latest single.

And that’s all the time we have for today. Check out Tús Nua on YouTube, Spotify or wherever you get your music from. Balkan Express will be back next week.

—

Balkan Express takes weekly trips into contemporary musical production of, you guessed it, the Balkans. Forget gusle and tamburice, this show is about rock, pop and a sense of humour. Well, at least there’s guitars. On air most Tuesdays in a new-and-improved time-slot at 1100 hrs. Usually. Your train conductor is Aljaž (aka @pengovsky) who once did the world a solid and decided never to sing again in public. Which is why he ended up doing radio.