This is the debut release from this Russian-American duo, and I had never heard of this experimental project before the LP showed up, but was pretty intrigued when "Me Ne Frego" opened with sparsely glitchy textures and sweeping little synth melodies over occasional percussive bursts and distant samples. This is an approach that differs from most of the experimental noise that I listen to in terms of its use of subdued beats and a bit more structure, but despite some musical flirtations this material is still fairly abstract, and I think that the way the samples/vocals are integrated into tracks like "Golden September", among others, is incredibly effective. In fact, it's often hard to tell if they're actually using spoken vocals or samples!? Much of the contributions are in fact a "narrated" style of vocals, but the manner in which they've been recorded is quite colorful, so they don't sound pasted in at all. "The Bitter Road" makes one of the more obvious uses of martial drum patterns alongside brighter little musical elements and narration that almost carries a bit of a tune, and some of that isn't really my thing, but again, it's been executed with a certain level of quality that I have to respect, and can usually appreciate. "Rus!" also uses a curiously militaristic sounding percussive backing amidst musical synths and Russian vocal work placed very deep in the mix to work more as texture than anything. "Cadence of Reign" opens side B with a more sinister approach that appeals to me right away with its more ambient sensibilities and obscured vocal work against a slower percussive rumble, and some of this carries over into "Torn to Iron"; before "Natyani" becomes much brighter and more musical in its use of melody, while the deep Russian vocals and low-end undercurrents still provide some contrast to keep you wondering what might come next. And what does come next? The incredibly strange, tribal sounding chant sample over an unusually "poppy" (for lack of a better term) militaristic drum pattern in "Ryba Beloshyolka; which ends rather quickly before the brooding synths and resonating percussive rolls of instrumental closer "Chugunnie Sny" creep into place. This another significantly darker track, and is probably my favorite piece of the entire LP. Very nice. The recording quality is very strong as well, and even though the vinyl isn't as heavy as I would normally expect from a European label, the sound is actually a little warmer and fuller than I would've expected, and there's very little disturbance created from vinyl noise or anything of that nature. The full color LP sleeve looks pretty interesting as well, using close-up images of fabric patterns being chipped away from walls or perhaps bound book covers or something like that, with a little bit of handwriting on the back. I actually think they should've used the handwriting for almost all of the text since it really fits in with the visual aesthetic, but whatever the case it looks nice. In the end I have to say that this is a truly creative offering that really has its own sound. While I've found that a lot of the "martial" stuff that I've encountered in the past can end up sounding quite cheesy, Levoi Pravoi strays from that by using a higher quality level of synth patches and really taking the time to ensure that the vocals are well recorded and mixed in with the music to create a complete atmosphere rather than a simple smattering of different parts. A definite attention to detail is exhibited throughout, and even though this isn't really my thing in some respects, I can definitely enjoy a lot of what they do, and have to commend them for their efforts. Nicely done.
[Neuropa]
Running time - 40:00 (approximately), Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Me Ne Frego, Golden September, Cadence of Reign, Chugunnie Sny]
Neuropa Records - http://www.neuropa.be
