The Bambi Molesters

In their hometown of Sisak, the metal and oil industry centre around 50 km to the southwest of Zagreb, people hadn’t seen that kind of band before. Even Zagreb had never seen a band like that until 1997, when the Bambi Molesters arrived on the national stage to play their first LP Dumb Loud Hollow Twang. Three guys, Dalibor Pavičić (guitar), Dinko Tomljanović (guitar) and Hrvoje Zaborac (drums), and a young lady named Lada Fan (bass) pushed the limits and established a pure 60s-style instrumental surf rock combo in Croatia. All of their dreams came true after their second LP Intensity! (Dancing Bear, 1999), when they were invited by Warner Bros to support R.E.M. in Slovenia. R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey plus an early international follower, Chris Eckman (The Walkabouts), dropped by as guests for the third album, Sonic Bullets: 13 From the Hip (2001), distributed globally by Glitterhouse and played on BBC1 by the mighty John Peel.

Intensive touring around the world, including several more European dates with R.E.M., was a key factor in establishing the Bambi Molesters as one of the flagbearers of the global surf rock revival, as well as one of the most interesting contemporary instrumental rock combos, featured also in the soundtrack of the hit TV series Breaking Bad. Back in Croatia they recorded their fourth album As the Dark Wave Swells (2010) and a double live album, One Night in Zagreb (2011), with the DVD concert movie shot by German filmmaker Marc Littler. And after more than 20 years, the Bambi Molesters are still riding the wave.