February 5, 1997:

I got my first listen to a new band that is probably going to storm the scene in the coming. Zabe i Babe loosly translates as "frogs and grandmothers" and pretty much means "things that are different." Led by singer and keyboardist Minja Lausevic, a native of Sarajevo, the band presents two distinct sides to Bosnian music. The first set at The Buttonwood Tree in Middletown, CT featured traditional a capella songs sung by Lausevic, Donna Kwon and Trista Newyear. The second set moved Kwon and Lausevic to synthesizers, and brought on Peter Irvine (drums) and Tim Eriksen (bass and electric guitar), both members of Cordelia's Dad, the sometimes-folk-sometimes-rock band that is no stranger to "things that are different." This set centered on a mixture of cheesy synth-pop, a Latin-rhythmed dance tune and some hard-edged rock songs from the urban milieu of Sarajevo, and included some promising fusions of the chilling, harsh folk vocals and a modern rock sound. This mix of tradition and attitude makes this a band to watch for. - Cliff Furnald (Apologies for the incorrect accent marks, some of them are just not available on HTML!)

Read about their album, Drumovi.