NEW DAY

The story of Russian Art-Rock band Apple Pie begins in 2000 in the cold city of Kursk,when they were formed under the force of guitarist/vocalist Vartan Mkhitaryan.In the line-up was also included Little Tragedies' bassist/saxophonist Alexey Bildin.Between July and November 2004 the band records a demo album entitled ''Новый День'' (New Day) with all music and lyrics written by Mkhitaryan.

In this album Apple Pie play a happy mixture of Pop,Rock,Jazz and Funk,a style quite challenging but definitely far from what one calls ''progressive rock''.In fact they sound a lot like the accesible side of SPOCK'S BEARD in their short tracks.The majority of the compositions are in a pleasant groovy style,rather straightforward, with lots of vocals and under a surprisingly good production.Mkhitarayan's guitar's style ranges from Classic Rock to Jazz to Funk,depending on the track,and he is always accompanied by the organ of Oleg Sergeev.Sometimes keys have a more symphonic edge,while Bildin shines with his excellent and demanding bass lines.Ten out of the fifteen tracks are sung in Russian,the rest in English with a bit of an accent.The problem here is that the compositions are too catchy and groovy with almost no instrumental sections and, while they are well-executed,they tend to get the listener stuffed from this material.Additionally the wide range of different styles between the tracks avoids the listener to get to a specific mood.A couple of boring ballads could have also been avoided.

''New day'' finds Apple Pie searching their way onto a more specific music style.This demo album is well-produced and executed and the band is definitely tight,but it is way too accesible to satisfy the lover of intricate sounds.Not recommended.