Apache Rose 2021
Attention!
Russian ensemble lay ten glam-smeared numbers on the line to see the future in their mirrorball.
Moscow may look gloomy and scintillating at the same time yet the city’s got a certain groove, even though it’s rarely reflected in solid rhythms. Thankfully, there are groups ready to prove the contrary, and this is one of those bright instances: artists able to strut their stuff in a proper, proud way and, as their debut’s title should suggest, call other people to action. Perhaps, passive, but action nevertheless – “Attention!” will see to it.
And it won’t take long. Once the tentative riff and disco jive of effervescent opener “Easy” are rather unexpectedly dissolved in rock ‘n’ roll licks, the deceptively deadpan vocals kick this ball of a song into an infectious funk zone where guitars swirl around the listener’s ears. Still, bass moves solidify for “On My Watch” to introduce a tad of tasty menace to the flow, whereas the reggae-tinged aggression of “Hit Me” seems quite lackadaisical until the chorus lines emerge to stay on.
Just like that, ignoring the punchy charms of “Tiny Love” is impossible, what with its thick six-string weave and touching refrain, and the heavy-ish “Backdoor Man” feels even tighter and more transparent at the same time, while the record’s titular track banishes narcissists back to the dancefloor. And then there’s the irresistible “You Kiss Like A Girl” which heats up the atmosphere, setting the scene for “Some Kind Of Love”: the ballad-shaped finale of a remarkable album by a band who must be followed because their next offering got to shoot high.
****
