Lunapark: The Sound of Russia Today is a bit of a mix of old and new throughout, but that's more speaking of the artists involved than anything else, and even then such veteran acts as
Mumiy Troll, represented here with the easy kick and swing of the entertaining "Kontrabandy," speak more of a Russia of this millennium than the previous one. Everything kicks into gear with the brawling stomp and sparkle of Gornostay's "Suka," which if anything indicates there might be more of a Slavic-punk-mixed-with-
Pulp background kicking around Russia than previously guessed, though one with its own attractive spin beyond the obvious difference in language. Even sleazier and sharper is
Barto's "Lenin," which brings the early synth/EBM/
Gina X style into a new and engaging place, while Mujuice's "Yunost" is a bit of synth whispery pop with energy -- and why not? Bigudi's "Na Zare" breaks into spoken and sung parts and has a really nice clean flow to it, as well as a real
Cure undercarriage when it comes to some guitar and bass arrangements. In another nod to other roots, Treya's "NLO" does a bit of technically sharp arena mall anthem nu-metal in the
Evanescence sense -- or perhaps
Linkin Park more accurately, so bring on the lingering after-effect that
Depeche Mode have still had in the country.
Noize MC's string-laden flow sounds engaging enough, to a non-Russian speaker at least -- making the bleeped bit even funnier -- while
Megapolis' "Supertango" nicely swings along, easy listening that goes down nicely, as well as a cool stop-the-drums-and-noodle-on-instruments break. Then again there's also the Retuses, whose "Lasdehnen" is a bit of genteel indie folk with trumpet and chorused vocals, so perhaps
Bon Iver have started to carve out their own spot in the country too. ~ Ned Raggett