I first was turned onto The Soviettes when their track “Paranoia! Cha-Cha-Cha” was featured on April’s Rock Against Bush compilation. Finally, we are given more than a taste from the Minneapolis act, and they do not disappoint in the least. Mixing the earliest strains of British punk with the straight-forward rock strains started in America, The Soviettes make radio-friendly tracks that are nearly impossible to ignore. Whether it is the breakneck-pace of “Portland” or the rest of the disc (no track on LP II is any longer than 2:23, The Soviettes come into your house, tear up anything that isn’t bolted down, and do it with a musicianship that just can’t be found with bands of the same energy. In a total display of their instruments, The Soviettes channel all their energy into a nod for the B-52’s in “Channel X”, where a Fred Schneider-soundalike is matched alongside a more sultry female voice.
The tone of LP II is admittedly different from “Paranoia! Cha-Cha-Cha, but comparing a few minutes of music to a 24 minute LP is problematic to start with. With rough guitars a continual presence on the disc, the smooth vocals laid down on the disc are really given carte blanche in their roles as diametric opposites. In a more subtle nod to Adeline founder Billie Joe Armstrong, The Soviettes make an audible attempt to emulate Dookie-era Green Day in their bass line to “#1 is Number Two”. In a nod to their name, the Communist-dictated role of vocalist, in that all members sing, allow The Soviettes to really leapfrog over a horde of similar sounding bands to really take their place as leaders in the genre.
Coming out of the gates with a strong effort relatively early in their career, The Soviettes have no ceiling on the success they can achieve. They play a strong and innovative style of music and are on a label that can provide them with the resources to get somewhere. Unlike most of the music that comes across my desk, I can honestly say that this album will be in my CD player throughout the summer and well into the next school year. And how could a review be complete without mentioning that The Soviettes freely and successfully incorporate a Cure lyric (“Staring at the sea / Staring at the Sand” from Killing An Arab) into a track “Portland” and make it completely their own.
Rating: 8.6/10
Top Tracks: Portland, Come On Bokkie!
The Soviettes – LP II / 2004 Adeline Records / 14 Tracks / http://www.the-soviettes.com / http://www.adelinerecords.com / Released 7 June 2004 / Reviewed 28 June 2004
John Sargeant, writing on NeuFutur as Sargeant, is the founder and editor-in-chief of NeuFutur Magazine, where he has covered independent music, PC hardware, consumer tech, and gaming culture since 1998. With over 25 years of continuous digital publishing experience, he has written thousands of hands-on game and record reviews, conducted in-depth hardware field testing, and analyzed digital media monetization trends. His work prioritizes first-hand evaluation and long-term product testing.
Beats: Independent Music, PC Gaming & Peripherals, Consumer Tech, Webmaster Tools
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