eliks_postindustry, Jun 04, 2007
Hey is one of the very few Polish rock bands formed after 1989 that really have something to say, and managed to keep on releasing great music ever since their debut breakthrough. Back in the early 90s, their music was a change on the Polish rock scene, whether such a scene existed at all, or had just been created. Most of the great Polish rock bands - Kult, Lady Pank, Maanam, etc. - were formed before 1989, and developed their style in a so-typically-Polish "fight the system" kind of way. After 1989, when there was nothing to fight against anymore, those rock bands were confused, and hence they started composing 'ordinary' songs about 'ordinary' things, or simply disappeared. Polish rock fans wanted to rebel from the total stagnation and of course caught the roaring tide of grunge flowin from the US. But it was not enough - they wanted to hear some new rock bands that were neither punk nor metal, but who sang in Polish and composed their lyrics about something different than love and alcohol and love. And then Hey emerged - and that was just it. Hey was fresh and different - whereas everybody sang of love and fun, Hey composed their lyrics about child abuse and broken homes - and at the same time knew how to, putting it bluntly, rock the house. Kasia Nosowska, composing her lyrics in both Polish and English, is by far the best female vocalist ever to walk the Polish soil - she possesses a powerful, perpetual voice, which nobody even tried to copy. She is also a rare example of how to sing well in English, something most of the Polish vocalists who try to should learn. Even today, although presenting a much developed sound, the band still fills the venues, and along with Myslovitz or Scianka, is a band to be trusted - no pop dope assured.
