Location: Novi Sad, Serbia
Year active: 2018 - ongoing
Members: Vladimir Lermajer (guitar), Boris Ždero (drums, 2019-20), Andrew Stevens (bass, vocals, 2020-present), Marko Dulić (drums, backing vocals, 2020-present), Ilija Kalinić (guitar, 2021-23), Miloš Vrhovac (vocals, 2022)
Labels: Idiotski Internat
FFO: The Dillinger Escape Plan, Loma Prieta, Jeromes Dream, Deafheaven
Just when you thought that 2023 wasn't going to get any better, you couldn't be any more wrong. It's quite the contrary, because there are many amazing things to come out this year, especially coming from the capital of Vojvodina.
And of course, we're talking about Novi Sad. We all know that it's a mecca of some good old punk music. Though with the abundance of creative ideas that bands from that area come up, it can be quite stale.
And that's when Polywhy shows up. Even the name itself sounds so random and mysterious, it'll draw you in with curiosity. It'll definitely be too late to get off the rollercoaster rider before you realise.
NOTE: This excerpt is taken from my review on behalf of DIY Conspiracy.
POLYWHY is an up-and-coming mathcore/post-hardcore band from Novi Sad, Serbia. It consists of a trio of musicians Andrew Stevens (vocals/bass), Vladimir Lermajer (guitar) and Marko Dulic (drums/backing vocals). Starting around 2018, they released mini EPs (later included in the compilation Don’t You Want To Use Me?), as well as the standalone EPs The Altar Boys and the Kratom/POLYWHY split (also released by local Novi Sad label Idiotski Internat). Given that Novi Sad is the mecca of the Serbian (and Vojvodina) punk scene, it’s no surprise that these guys can blow us away.
This year, POLYWHY dropped their fresh offering Wanton Psalms in September. A great opener “Scalp Me” starts with electrifying discordant riffs and bursts into dissonant math chaos with menacing/panicky lines “Meat Grinder/Be Kinder”, “Let me out of my skin/This flesh cage that I’m trapped in” for 2:38 minutes.
Wanton Psalms takes us on an 8-track, 26-minute journey of chaotic nightmare with the dissonant, unnerving riffs of The Dillinger Escape Plan and Daughters, the noisy, panicky feedback of Jeromes Dream, the blast beats of Deafheaven, the punchy production of Loma Prieta, and the bleeding essence of post-hardcore with the likes of Unwound and Milemarker. POLYWHY’s lyricism bleeds with cryptic yet passionate poetry, tackling serious themes of anxiety, dissociation, lack of connection, and insomnia. The 4:15 closer “Canyon” finishes their usual routine and then stumbles into their Milemarker/Unwound finale with desperate clean vocals singing the last words “Now we hardly speak at all” before bursting into the flood of feedback.
Wanton Psalms is POLYWHY’s freshest album to date. While we’re used to the popularity of classic hardcore punk in our local scene, this type of punk extremity is never to be ignored. The amount of mathcore/blackgaze/screamo songwriting is AOTY guaranteed and deserve a recognition in and out of the Ex-Yu punk scene.
