‘Draga! Za roke se drživa, Da v morju trupl, Se ne zgubiva, Jutr je praznik!’ (Darila) / ‘Darling! Let’s hold hands, So that we don’t get lost in the sea of ​​corpses, Tomorrow is a holiday!’ (Gifts)

Hailing from Ljubljana, Poguba (Ruin) make their vinyl debut with this six-track EP, Noč (Night).  And brace yourself, you’re in for a treat.  The opening two salvos, the title track and Darila, are rapid fire eruptions of frantic, noise drenched hardcore.  The band then sell us the most unexpected shimmy as they cover The Cure’s Hočm Bit Str (I Want To Be Old), locking into a mid-paced groove braided through with its mournful motif melody and desperately forlorn, crooned vocals.

This melodic flourish is not revisited, but the gothic aesthetic once invited over the threshold, is not for leaving.  It insidiously permeates the three tracks on the flipside, bringing to the fore the band’s dark Yugo punk inspirations.  They unfurl in a contagious squall of bleakly comedic tirades, darkly drawled spoken word, and stomping rhythms.  Tank and Lublana both work rather well, although my personal highlight is Maximum R’N’R as it loses itself in a swirling vortex of rasping vocals, Gregorian chants, and crashing cymbals.