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Album Details

• Artist: The Russian Futurists
• Album: Let's Get Ready To Crumble
• Label: Upper Class
• Year of Release: 2003
• Reviewed by: rbidet on 2004-10-20

In the title song to this one-Canadian-man-bands latest, the Russian Futurists' Matthew Hart coaxes his listener to "sell our souls to rock and roll", but if he's made a deal with the devil for anything, it was an array of dated keyboards and a reverb unit that doesn't go below eleven. Throughout this brief ten song disc, washes of Casiotone and clicking percussion set the stage for Hart's disarming melodies and pensive, heartfelt lyrics - if you can pick them out of the cavernous echo.

Though the sound initially struck me as fatally gimmicky, it helped that the aforementioned track starts the album off in wonderfully melodic fashion with an underlying melancholy buoyed by a jaunty tempo and grandiose arrangement. Elsewhere, the appropriately titled "It's Not Really Cold When it Snows" proves that this heartsick Torontoan (Torontite?) has pop smarts that transcend whatever brace of instruments he chooses to populate his boyishly sung tunes. When the wordless refrain kicks in, and the 'organ'swells (sorry) the effect is an emotional one, and the songs'brevity make it a perfect candidate for the 'repeat'function on your CD player, especially if the climate outside your window matches the one in these songs.

Not everything here reaches such lofty heights, but there are no missteps. Mr. Hart keeps things compelling, with catchy melodies and a playful, inspired approach to recording and songcraft that keeps the overall mood both sadly wistful and uplifting. Inevitable charges of 80's-ism due to the dominance of retro synths and drum machines are largely irrelevant, and I regret almost making them myself.

It will be interesting to see where the Futurists go from here. Though the budget for further recordings may be limited, Matthew Hart's ability with ingratiating tunes and affecting lyrics should serve him well, long into the future.

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