Released in 2008, Deveti život by Kanda, Kodža i Nebojša was named album of the year by Popboks, and it’s easy to hear why. It’s a record that sits comfortably within the alternative and space rock revival lineage of the late 90s and 2000s, while still carrying the distinct atmosphere of the Belgrade scene that shaped it.
At its core, the album blends space rock, alternative rock, and dub into a fluid, atmospheric whole. There are echoes of Spiritualized in its expansive textures, while closer to home it shares a sonic kinship with Darkwood Dub — particularly in its use of rhythm, delay, and mood. At times, a looser garage and psychedelic rock energy emerges, reminiscent of bands like Oasis or The Stone Roses, though filtered through a more introspective, nocturnal lens.
The album opens with Nitro, a slow-building, atmospheric introduction that leans heavily into repetition and texture. Its extended instrumental passage feels almost progressive in structure, gradually layering guitars and vocal fragments into something hypnotic and slightly unsettling. There’s a gothic undercurrent here — distant, choral elements that evoke a mood closer to Joy Division than traditional space rock.
That tone carries into Ovde i sada, where heavier, more psychedelic guitars meet ethereal, almost androgynous vocals. The result is a track that balances weight and atmosphere — grounded in alternative rock, but constantly drifting toward something more abstract.
Across the record, the band moves fluidly between styles without fully committing to any single one. Crveni konji introduces brass textures and a broader, almost “big music” feel, while Džo Stramere leans more directly into dub and reggae rhythms, reinforcing the album’s connection to the Belgrade scene of the time.
On Odlazak, the band shifts into heavier territory. Fuzz-drenched guitars dominate, pushing the sound closer to psychedelic garage rock, while still maintaining the spacious, immersive production that defines the album as a whole. It’s one of the record’s most intense moments — a contrast to the more restrained, hypnotic passages elsewhere.
That hypnotic quality is perhaps most fully realised on Godine ćutanja, where repetition and gradual build-up create a trance-like effect. At times, this approach edges into self-indulgence — the band allowing ideas to stretch slightly beyond their natural limits — but the payoff remains effective, particularly in its slow, satisfying crescendos.
The album’s standout moment comes with Prekidi stvarnosti, its most immediate and fully realised track. Blending alternative-rock structure with spacey textures and a subtle dream-pop atmosphere, it captures the band at their most focused. The song feels both accessible and expansive, grounded yet drifting, with abstract, existential lyrics that reinforce the album’s late-night mood.
That mood defines the record as a whole. Deveti život feels like an album built for night listening — introspective, slightly detached, and quietly surreal. Even moments like Čaj, with its spoken-word sample, contribute to this atmosphere, adding a layer of self-awareness that borders on playful.
If the album has a flaw, it lies in its tendency to drift. The emphasis on atmosphere and repetition occasionally comes at the expense of structure, leaving certain passages feeling weightless or overextended.
Deveti život is a compelling record, capturing a band navigating multiple influences — space rock, dub, alternative, psychedelia — and shaping them into something distinctly their own. At its best, it’s hypnotic, immersive, and quietly powerful.
A moody, genre-blurring mix of space rock, dub, and alternative textures, Deveti život captures Kanda, Kodža i Nebojša at their most atmospheric — hypnotic at its best, but occasionally drifting into self-indulgence.
