Your reviewer can't recall Leon Trotsky inspiring a major pop tune since The Stranglers hit paydirt with the evergreen 'No More Heroes'. However, the giant of Bolshevism is allegedly the main influence behind wunderkinds DEFEND MOSCOW'S debut single 'Manifesto'.
There again, DM aren't exactly yer run of the mill suburban kids in arms united in a desire to take the cover of the NME within three months. They got together when long-term mates Jon Beck (vocals) and Dave Fawbert (guitar/ synth/ programming) ran into Norwegian co-vocalist Sofie Storaas in Bergen a year ago. Drummer Adam Pickering and Parisian bassist Rick Elmos have since been drafted in, giving DM a truly trans-European feel and it's clear from 'Manifesto' and its' attendant tracks that a shared love of electro-pop, sweet harmonies and good tunes is gonna open doors for them in the forseeable future.
Because, despite its' 'revolutionary' content, 'Manifesto”s call to arms is really an irresistible urge to give into temptation and get onto the dancefloor right away. Arriving fully-formed and anthemic, it finds Elmos funking his thang in a Shriekback-kinda way and the tune itself making like 'True Faith'-era New Order. Which can't be bad in itself.
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B-side 'Bittersweet Destiny' pulls a similar, sophisticated pop trick and makes it clear DM have more where 'Manifesto' comes from. The de rigeur re-mixes ain't bad, neither. The cheeky 'KGB' Remix is arguably the better, coming on like one of Bernard Sumner and Donald Johnston's B-Music affairs from the mid-80s with Emulators to the fore and the track sounding sleek and spiky all at once. There again, the Lenny Picko mix – with its' glitchy, house-y moves – is intelligent too, bringing a little Krautrock thrum to the melody line and stripping 'Manifesto' of all bar the essentials.
All in all, a bloody good start then. Do the new pop kids need Defend Moscow's Leftist groove thang? Yeah, they sure do.
(http://www.myspace.com/defendmoscow)
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