MOLDOVA 2022

The Moldovan Final was held on January 29th at the TRM TV Studios in Chisinau. Initially the this particular date was set to be the  'online audition day' followed by a with a national final proper in March but just a day before the auditions were held it was announced the selection would be wrapped up after the auditions show. The winning act and song, chosen solely by a jury was Zdob și Zdub & Frații Advahov with the song "Trenuletul" (The Train)

Zdob și Zdub are stalwarts of the Moldovan Eurovision experience. They were the nation's first ever act at Eurovision in 2005 coming in an impressive 6th place  They then returned in 2012 and came 12th. The band formed almost 30 years ago although the only original member from that formation is singer, Roman. They have a plethora of experience with many concerts and festivals behind them mostly throughout Moldova, Romania and the former Soviet states. Their style or music can mostly be filed under the 'ethno-rock' genre although their music has definite nods towards punk, folk and Balkan sounds. The Advhov Brothers are the founders of a folk orchestra which shares their name and have been bestowed with many Moldovan honors for their contribution and promotion of the Moldovan Folk tradition.

The song starts with a very jolly accordion earworm which dips in and out of the singing. I say singing, it is more like monotone chanting/rapping which actually contrasts quite well with the ever changing backing track. Roman's vocals are very strong and, albeit mostly in Romanian, his diction and intention is very clear. The distinction between the verses and choruses is very marked too especially with the introduction of a very basic dance routine between the two. After two rounds of verse-chorus there is a instrumental break before another round of the chorus. There is then a more frenetic instrumental break an rather more shouty verse concluding with one more roundel of the chorus. They certainly get a lot in for under 3 minutes! The whole atmosphere and relentless nature of the song even sounds like a train - even more so as some of the elongated yelps sound like train whistles.

This is true Balkan style although some might  hear some of the ska-like qualities of the fast and repetitive instrumentation.  The staging and costuming is very basic due to the rushed nature of the staging set up. The lead singer is joined on stage by 3 of his band mates and the two Advahov Brothers. They all seem to be having a great time and seem rather enthused despite the rather simplistic setup. All this plainness leaves the door open to wonder what the band and delegation could have in store for their Eurovision performance - their last two ESC attempts included a drum-playing grandma and a lady on a unicycle. This song will appeal greatly to the Balkan crowd but I also know that this will be fun and heartwarming to those who are not. This will go down BIG in the hall and will have everybody up and dancing (probably doing some kind of train-related conga). Everyone on stage has been doing this for long enough to know how to perform and how get the votes in.

ARTIST - Zdob și Zdub & Frații Advahov
SONG - Trenuletul (The Train)
WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Zdob și Zdub & Frații Advahov