Soviettes - Lpiii

  by Alex Halls

published: 7 / 7 / 2005

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In a punk world dominated by male bands with male vocalists, The Soviettes comes as a breath of fresh air. With three alternating female singers and the odd, welcome vocal burst from sole male contributor Danny, The Soviettes have the ability to vary the course of a song with frightening ease; after all, as the back cover of the album proudly states: "everybody sings". Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the band of four; Annie (guitar); Sturgeon (guitar); Susy (bass); and Danny (drums), formed in the winter of 2000 and has continuously pumped out a combination of rock ‘n’ roll and punk in the five years that have passed. With a name thought up by a customer where Annie was serving coffee at the time, The Soviettes are one of the newest to the Fat Wreck label. This is the band’s third record, entitled 'LP III', one that continues on from LP II with as many catchy songs and even more energy than before. 'LP III' is exciting stuff throughout as it never lets the vivacity drop, even where most albums tend to lose their way. Consisting of fourteen tracks, all of which are guaranteed to get you moving, the album starts with the bright opener, 'Multiply and Divide'. It then advances into the entertaining 'Paranoia Cha Cha Cha', a song featured on 'Rock Against Bush vol.1' and one that quips at humankind’s irrational distrust of others, something common in today’s intolerant world. The Soviettes also tackles songs about lost love, in 'Thinking of You' and drinking, in ('Do) the Stagger'; a wealth of topics seem covered. Amongst the many enjoyable tracks that 'LP III' boasts, 'Together' and 'Photograph' must be credited for their distinctly intriguing and successful tuning. Starting slowly before the meatier riffs and driven vocals kick in, 'Together' sums up The Soviettes approach to music: that it shouldn’t be completely serious as it’s real purpose is to entertain, but that it should still remain sensible. A little further on and 'Photograph' surpasses excellence again with the excellent use of flat notes adding zest to the passion: truly, everything about the song works. Fast and memorable these tracks pull the album to its conclusion with as much credibility as that which it had when it started. It has to be noted that 'LP III' greatly surprised me as I was expecting a much inferior product. My initial thinking couldn’t have been further from the truth. It is an album that will especially appeal to the female punk rockers, but also to the male, taking mosh-pits away from their occasional brutality but leaving all the enjoyment behind. Quintessentially it could be marketed as a natural ‘diet punk’: it has the same distinct flavour but without the calories. It is with this that The Soviettes now becomes a much more saleable force.

Track Listing:-

1 Multiply And Divide
2 ¡Paranoia Cha Cha Cha!
3 Middle Of The Night
4 Whoa
5 (Do) The Swagger
6 You Should Know
7 What Did I Do?!
8 Roller Girls
9 Together
10 Thinking Of You
11 Hanging Up The Phone
12 How Do You Like That
13 Photograph
14 Gotta Decide

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