Jernej Zoran – Watching The World Go By (Album Review)

Slovenian blues-rock guitarist and musician Jernej Zoran has a new record, Watching The World Go By. According to information provided by the musician, the ten-track record was ‘actually made online, in collaboration with various musicians from around the world: Slovenia, Croatia, United States, Ukraine, Italy and South Africa’. This is his seventh studio album, and his first recorded in English. A defining structural feature of the album is the frequent inclusion of extended instrumental passages.

‘Take Off Your Mask’ is the record’s first song.  The track opens with melancholic guitar strings, immediately establishing an evocative country music atmosphere. These sonic textures soon give way to deep, resonant vocals, which we can safely assume belong to Jernej Zoran. While the record is a collaborative effort,  details of the supporting musicians have not been provided.

Though the theme is not explicitly stated, the lyrics suggest a narrative of intimacy and love, opening with the persona instructing the addressee to take off their mask and requesting to see their smile. The tone soon shifts to motivational encouragement, urging the listener to ‘open their heart and be free’. One of the arresting lines in the song is, ‘Life is for those who dare to dream’. The track concludes with an extended bluesy guitar solo, which solidifies the melancholic atmosphere introduced at the beginning.

‘All They Say All They Do’ is defined by drums. Another distinctive sonic element is a recurring sound that evokes an intercom ringing. Vocals are mellow; and like in the previous track, this one features a bluesy guitar stretch that takes center stage as an extended solo.

Lyrically, the song conveys a sense of sharp cynicism, expressed through the persona’s conviction that ‘all they know amounts to nothing’ – the ‘all’ being people surrounding them. This skepticism appears warranted as the lyrical narrative suggests the addressee is facing criticism from those who haven’t walked in their shoes’. Consequently, the track evolves into another motivational piece, offering support against outside judgment.

‘Moonwalking Bear’ opens with a crunchy guitar tone. Though purely instrumental, the track is perfectly structured around blues guitar work and a steady rhythm section, which alternates between deliberate pacing and rapid, precise drumming. It’s a beautiful song. This one talks to the body rather than mind!

The record’s title track, ‘Watching The World Go By,’ functions primarily as a guitar piece, with the vocals remaining generally mellow, meditative, and restrained, though they are allowed to soar at some moments. This track continues the album’s pattern, featuring an extended, focused guitar solo.

Lyrically, the song adopts a poetic, if perhaps not cheesy, tone that stands in stark contrast to the ‘frantic life’ it addresses. However, the lyrical persona sounds passive, as they confess to spending their time ‘watching the world go by’ and ‘letting the days slip by.’ This reveals a theme of detached observation, rather than active participation.

The persona does reveal, however, that they once actively sought an answer, though their efforts were ultimately fruitless. Yet, a shift occurs when the world suddenly becomes still, and the solution arrives in that ensuing silence.

The lyrical focus then shifts away from the persona’s self-reflexivity to address someone else directly – likely a romantic partner.

The cheesiness is carried into the subsequent guitar stretch, which is gracefully supported by the addition of a mellow piano accompaniment.

The deep vocals return in ‘(Let Men Help You) Carry That Cross,’ initially delivered over a strikingly bare and acoustic, or minimalist, guitar arrangement.

The lyrical persona presents themselves as a caring figure by explicitly offering assistance to their addressee. The lyrical persona’s offer of assistance is directed at an addressee who is likely not a romantic partner, a strong indication being the persona’s use of the term ‘mama’.

The song gains significant momentum as the drums emphatically kick in, lending a driving energy to the arrangement. This momentum later transitions into a lengthy instrumental section, featuring a combined extended solo from both the crunchy rock guitar and the bluesy guitar.

‘Free’ begins with the familiar combination of lead guitar and mellow vocals. As the track progresses, however, a clear dynamic shift occurs: the vocals begin to soar, and the instrumentation becomes notably more energetic, driven primarily by the increasingly impactful drums

Some of the lyrics go like:

Get together.

Get together people.

The track concludes with the reappearance of the slightly crunchy guitar, bringing the song to a definitive close.

‘Tears of Orion’ marks a return to an instrumentation-only format. The title immediately invokes the metaphor, which is widely used in poetry, music, and literature to suggest themes of cosmic beauty, melancholy, and vastness.

The track’s opening instrumentation is characterized by a plucky, metallic texture, which sounds almost weightless. This light – annoying perhaps – texture is soon stabilized by the introduction of the drums, which serve to anchor the song into a deeper, more grounded rhythmic framework.

‘Angels with Broken Wings’ also incorporates plucky instrumentation, though here, the texture shifts to evoke the feel of an ice cream truck jingle. Deep vocals also return, this time supported by distinct backing vocals.

In here, the lyrical persona recounts the desires of angels with broken wings. They dream of soaring into the skies like they once did. The song executes a powerful thematic shift, moving from the ethereal, celestial imagery to a grounded, human focus. This transition is exemplified by the motivational lyric, ‘as long as we’re alive, every day is a new adventure’, reinforcing the consistent theme of positive encouragement seen throughout the album.

However, this shift toward human motivation is immediately complicated when the lyrical persona claims that they, too, possess broken wings, mirroring the plight of the angels.

The track ‘You’ is introduced by an acoustic guitar, but this time, the lead vocals are delivered by a female singer, marking a key shift in the album’s vocal dynamic. With the drumming fully established, the track settles into a distinct country twang.

The lyrical persona on here speaks of a person who came into their life without warning – but this appearance a blessing. The lyrics further elaborate on the addressee’s significance, noting that they are the source of ‘joy, happiness and laughter’ in the lyrical persona’s life.

The record concludes with the final track, ‘(In Me You’ll) Live Forever,’ an instrumental piece. The initial drumming is notable for being loose and wooden, establishing a contrast with the metallic, rapid rhythms heard elsewhere on the record. The blues guitar enters with a slight touch of crunch, contributing to a generally chilled, groovy atmosphere. However, this relaxed mood is quickly invigorated near the end by a throbbing, steely beat that decisively quickens the pace.

SCORE/Excellent: Overall, this is an enjoyable and accessible record, offering listeners several potential highlights. For this reviewer, the standout track was undoubtedly ‘Moonwalking Bear,’ where the commanding interplay between the crunchy guitar tone and the dynamic drums creates an immediate and lasting impact. The titular song is remarkable in terms of subject matter.

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