Понедельник 22 Сен 2008, 21:22

As a band, The Bolshoi existed from 1983 until soon after the release of Lindy's Party in 1987. In the liner notes of Away...Best of The Bolshoi, lead vocalist Trevor Tanner writes that the broke up because "it just wasn't fun anymore" - a good reason for any band to break up, as far as I'm concerned. Tanner would go on to release a handful of solo albums and eventually join with Celtic-rock group Rathkeltair. Keyboardist Paul Clark currently works as the CEO of Walkthrough Media. Bassist Nick Chown and drummer Jan Kalicki seem to have fallen off the face of the Earth.

Lindy's Party was The Bolshoi's second proper studio album after the debut full-length Friends one year prior. While Friends is often referenced as a goth rock masterpiece, Lindy's Party is seen as a lesser album for the glossiness of its production. Bullocks, say I to that! This is a brilliant album, from start to finish. I can listen to this record all the way through multiple times and never seem to tire of it. Glossy or not, this is a damn fine set of songs from yet another band who never got the recognition they deserved.

"Auntie Jean" opens the proceedings, with an ominous dance floor stomp. "Please" keep the tempo up, but brightens things only slightly until the stunning "Crack In Smile," a song which starts a whisper and explodes into a plaintive wail over it's six-minute running time. If there were any justice in the world, "Crack In Smile" would be huge hit with an epic music video to match - and no god damn single edit to cut away any of it's beauty.

"Swings And Roundabouts" is a goofy little romp just this side of The Cure's "Screw," but it strangely doesn't interrupt the flow of the album like "Screw" does to The Head on the Door. Instead, it provides a breather between the aural abyss of "Crack In Smile" and "She Don't Know." Channelling The Mission UK, "She Don't Know" is a moderately upbeat call and response with lyrics seemingly meditating on how knowledge not gained through actual experience is worthless.

Side B opens with "T.V. Man," which is exactly about what the title implies it is about. "Can You Believe It?" sounds like an experiment in combining the influences of Art of Noise and Talking Heads, with moderate success. Personally, I don't think the song suits The Bolshoi very well, although it is an interesting experiment - it certainly is far more listenable than some band's experiments, if nothing else.

"Rainy Days" is a more straightforward rock song. However, "Barrowlands" is a real creepshow which should be essential for any Halloween playlist.

The album closes with it's namesake song, "Lindy's Party," a track which dynamically builds in much the same way "Crack In Smile" does, however with an optimistic dénouement, rather than the desperation which closes out the other track. Thematically, it could easily bookend Siouxsie and the Banshees' rendition of "Dear Prudence." Come out and play, indeed.