It's about a minute into 'She Died' that I'm struck by just how odd this album is, how alien it all sounds to my ears. Sure, the first three tracks have bewildered me with their off-kilter, all-over-the-shop tangents, the overall new wave feel of the music appealing but offset by the vocals, which aren't entirely melodic, somewhat manic and heavily accented with an Eastern Bloc inflection. But it's during the fourth track, which sounds like The Psychedelic Furs crossed with Madness and Roxy Music that the cultural differences really strike me.
I have to trust my instincts and assume that Smourov really is pouring heart and soul and wringing every drop of fraught emotion on 'Moons', although he could just as easily be barking at the moon or singing that it's made of cream cheese, or even something else entirely. Not that it matters all that much: the ragged sound and the anguish conveyed in the vocal tone is perhaps more affecting than having the mood spoiled by potentially disappointing lyrics.
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Translit Online
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