Kevlar Bikini
Explodisiac

As personal protective gear goes, I don’t think a bikini made out of kevlar would be my preferred choice when going into an area where being shot at is possible. Mainly because bikini isn’t really a piece of clothing that suits me well, but of course also because it is not really protecting that much of your body. Maybe the men of law and the gangsters of Croatia has a gentlemen’s agreement to aways shoot towards the bikini area, but that would be a bit risky anyway as a near miss could hurt a little bit. Despite this a quartet of bikini clad Croatians has taken the name Kevlar Bikini to honour this maybe misunderstood piece of protective clothing.

Explodisiac is the debut album of the quartet and they claim to be promoting originality and individuality, but somehow I doubt that (or would have if I had read the promo info before listening to the album). And why? you ask. First of all look at the name, then look at the song titles. But it is not only that, they claim to be aiming to play the music they want to hear. Bands that claim to be doing that usually tent to plagiarise other bands, which is why I would have doubted that claim had I read about the band before hearing them. They have however been quite positively reviewed by press around the web, just two slightly less positive in a mass of praise for the Croatians. The cover art however isn’t that impressive, but I don’t really think they have focused anything at all on that one.

It is musically quite straightforward heavy rock music with a slight american touch and a lot of attitude. The originality they mention in the press info isn’t really something I notice, but the kind of music they perform isn’t really one where originality is key to success but rather the opposite. It is rock music for the stage or for the stereo at the party, simple and to the point, no compromises and lots of energy. Possibly there is a portion of humour in there as well, but I am not certain as I cannot hear anything of it but it would be strange for a band writing such lyrics to take themselves completely serious. I think however that maybe a little more obvious self irony would be a benefit just to underline this more clearly. The production is quite raw and suits the music perfectly, it has a bit of personality due to the roughness in the sound which makes these songs probably perfect for the stage. Not much variation over the ten tracks and 33 minutes, it is true to the style and if you are looking for uniqueness I don’t really think this is the album for you.

Well, a kevlar bikini would not be a good piece of clothing for personal safety but what about a band with the same name? Well, they are quite good. Their music works especially well for a background musical piece on a party perhaps but also when doing other stuff when the focus on the music isn’t paramount. It is probably also great to experience live but for me it does not quite do the trick when just sitting down listening to it, for that I like my music a bit nicer produced with cleaner sound and all of that but also in song style a bit more elaborate than what Kevlar Bikini has to offer. I have nothing really to complain about with this band, they do what they do in a very good way and if we are to believe the reliable internet reviewers they are great at what they do. Too bad that what they do do not really thrill me.

In the end I would say that this is a good piece of party rock music which is fortunate because who would really wear a kevlar bikini for protection from bullets?

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