RUSSKAJA turn the turbopolka up to 10 with Kosmopoliturbo

RUSSKAJA – Kosmopoliturbo (Napalm Records)

Genre: Turbopolka

Even though this review foolishly attempts to define a genre for RUSSKAJA (blame the house style), the Austrian crossover band are impossible to pigeonhole.

This is the fourth album from the Georgij Makazaria led outfit and his six band mates cause merry havoc with your ear drums from start to finish.

Second song of the LP, Alive, begins life with a traditional rolling guitar introduction that sounds like Makazaria is going to bring out his six-shooter and duel the town villain at dawn – before bursting into a mad hatter polka inspired ska that melts into a EDM mental breakdown.

Being an Austro-Soviet group must make them unique for a start – and that’s before you listen to their music. Still In Love is an autotone homage to everything that made Bon Jovi so easy to take the mick out of, but Hello Japan is a pure headbanger from start to finish and is the first track on the album not to be sung in English. It’s also the first time their famous turbopolka comes out to play and the results are glorious.

Cheburaschka carries on in that fine tradition and Makazaria’s 40-cigaretts-a-day voice combined with an infectiously accented English make it one of the highlights of the whole album. Chef De Cuisine is the final turbopolka song of the album and once again it doesn’t disappoint.

While RUSSKAJA are more than capable of writing a metal banger, Send You An Angel and La Musica prove they are able to do soft and catchy as well. If the Soviet’s had this lot at their disposal, they might have been able to win the hearts and minds campaign.

Just because they don’t identify with anything in the mainstream doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be taken seriously or on your favourites playlist. Listen to them now.

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