Отстой- Сахара EP (2014)

So what if this thing came out back in April, Petrograd's Otstoy is a great summer soundtrack. Snide, off-the-cuff-'cause-who's-really-listening vocals, all the tone the Russian steppes can offer, and a drumbeat so basic it might just be someone tapping their foot against a tin can. That's it.

And man, is the one (ok, maybe 2) note guitar solo on the first song majestic! Majestic in the way you'd expect from a band that probably consists of one dude chainsmoking and sippin' on potato-mash vodka in the studio and bangin' out whatever comes to mind. The second song's even better. By song three you've probably moved onto your 5th beer of the night, so you won't remember it, but it's good too.

Go swimming, go drinking, go listen to Otstoy!

Отстой-Тупым EP (2014)

Everyone's shitting their pants right now about the Sochi Olympics and Putin's terminal cretinism. Really, though, y'all should really be shitting yr pants to this delightful bit of jerky, psyched-out garage from St. Petersburg.* A one-man act from the city that gave us the October Revolution, Отстой is crude and bratty. Yet beneath the brazen fuzztone fuckery lurks songs that are, uh, real songs: vocal phrasing that changes with the verses and choruses, squalling peaks and valleys, etc tc.

The first song wallows in dissonant tone waves before it jerks into what BrianJonestownMassacre mighta sounded like if they were a punk band recording on 4-track instead of a bunch of LA hipsters doing mountains of coke. It's got the same arrogant nonchalance and this guy manages to pull off some stellar guitar licks with too-cool-for-school wasteoid vocal stylin'. The next two songs are more of the same: crude, not stupid, garage rock filtered through a "whogivesafuck let's drop acid and record" sensibility. I have no idea if this guy is in fact an acid fan but this EP gives me the image of a bunch of people hangin' round on a cold winter's night guzzling vodka and getting fried on acid, babbling about how they should start a loud garageband pisstake on BJM. This is the result.

GET INTO IT, HERE!

*Otstoy is just one of several hot bands coming out of St. Petersburg. Interested readers should check out this article on the Far From Moscow site for more information.

Sonic Death-Uncomplete Session LP (2012)

St. Petersburg's Sonic Death is one of my favorite new bands, so I resume frequent blogging with a writeup of their recent B-sides, live tracks, and rarities LP.

I'm surprised that they already have enough material for a collection like this, but I'm not complaining: in addition to the rambamthankyamam garage stomp you know and love from their Gothic Sessions EP, there's hidden gems like "untitled" and the pounding slow burn of the live track "Temnota."

The LP confirms the impression I got from the "Gothic Sessions" EP: Sonic Death pretty much has the market cornered on tight garage with a heart of gold. There's a tenderness in the singer's voice that's rare in this genre, and Sonic Death's subdued, brooding interludes ("Son", "Boyfriend") are just as enjoyable as their more straightforwardly garagepunk numbers. Hell, I didn't even cringe at the guitar-'n'-banjo tune "Boyfriend," and I hate banjos! "Zmeya" is the best track here, though: a propulsive, atmospheric drumbeat digs out a rhythmic trench that blurs together guitar and drums.

Anyways, Sonic Death does it again on this LP. The only vice, implicit in the nature of the album, is its uneveness: there's no flow to the songs, but whatever. Look for more madness from these demented fellas soon.

Listen to "Uncomplete Sessions," then BUY IT, HERE.

Sonic Death-Gothic Sessions EP (2012)

...Or, the Sonics are back from the dead, and have taken up residency in St. Petersburg. Where they are suffering from the blues.

I'm a little behind on this one, but it blew me away when I played it yesterday with bong smoke billowing out my bedroom window. St. Petersburg's Sonic Death meld garage riffing and psychedelic melancholy to create an EP that's at the top of my list for 2012.

The opener, "Наслаждение," is a mellow, mid-tempo misery stomp, setting the scene nicely for what comes next. "Сейчас (Сукин Сын)" is more concrete, with a snare drum echoing off the basic guitar chords and the singer talk-singing over the hum. "Ко Мне" features a sick guitar riff no doubt stolen from a Thirteenth-Floor Elevators tune with a freaked out, warbling bridge I can't get outta my head. The last track, "Пол," sounds like Yanka Dyagileva on a good day, with a backing band: tambourines, gently strummed acoustic guitar, and mumble-mouthed vocal phrasing.

      What appeals to me the most about Sonic Death is the depth of these songs: the form is garage, but the ambiance completely lacks the cocky, swaggering feel of most American garage. In its place is a bitter(sweet), knowing weariness that most American bands can't muster. I don't know Russian but the music and words connect on a visceral level. As it happens, Dead Moon's "In the Graveyard" follows this EP when I play it on Itunes, and I'm gonna go out on a limb and compare the singer's voice to Fred Cole's: they don't sound alike, but like Fred Cole, this dude knows how you feel and would probably be happy to share some whiskey with you.

Get weird here.