Ok, so the Interpol comparisons that encircled the 2012 release of Motorama’s sophomore long-player, ‘Calendar’ will inevitably resurface on the re-release of the band’s 2010 debut. In the main, they’re justified, with the interweaving guitars lending the tenser tracks a dreamlike quality. This is nowhere more strongly evidenced than on the title track, although ‘Ship’ has a gloriously melancholic feel. It’s not just the guitars: it’s Vladislav Parshin’s slightly twangy vocal delivery that at times is almost a flat, blank monotone.
But Motorama bring more to the table, both in terms of reference points that lean heavily on new wave and early 80s pop while adding a delicate dash of soaring post-rock and some shuffling drum beats that forge a sound that’s at once familiar and fresh. ‘Wind in Her Hair’ has a Smiths-esque jangle to its chiming guitars, the vocals swamped in reverb as Parshin lays out a litany of apologies.
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This re-release has three extra tracks not on the original, and they’re of a quality. ‘Normandy’ has heavy echoes of (very) early New Order. In its assimilation of its retro references, ‘Alps’ is an album that is – ironically – very ‘now’. But with Motorama’s unusual Russian slant, it also stands apart from most other new wave revivalist works. Recommended.
Motorama Online
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