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CD Feature/ Mumiy Troll: "Comrade Ambassador"

  Tobias

Russian rock n roll at its Russianest, put forth by the country's answer to, eh, maybe a Depeche Mode that won't die, but I offer that only to paint a perspective of timeline, not sound: the band has been doing their punk/postwave thing since 1983, fighting the Pravda-pounding Man and getting tossed in the joint for it on a few occasions.

One other bit of useless information to pass on before we proceed with any art-autopsy involves their moniker, which is a play on the title of an immensely popular Finnish cartoon trademark; if they were American, these guys might call themselves the "Dizney Mice," something like that.

Applying laser to disc, what comes out is an effective-enough toolbox comprising washed-out Chris Isaak spaghetti-50s guitars ("Mothers and Daughters"), 80s Clash ("Hey, Tovarishch"), Franz Ferdinand ("We Overslept") and here and there the lazy ska run, compatible sounds all, of course.

But the catch is that singer Ilia Lagutenko sticks to his native language while drawling his way through the songs, affecting a chops-licking lasciviousness that's pure Pepé Le Pew, and, by extension, a refreshing innocence that shows clean through the Mick Jagger posturing for which it aims.

 By Eric Saeger

Homepage: Mumiy Troll
Homepage: Ryko Records