VEZHLIVY OTKAZ

If this is Russia's best Avant band then this just shows how far behind the West they still are. And yes my age and world view mean I'm still in the cold war as far as this nation goes. I respect VESPERO though, and their musical legacy. So this is quite different from their earlier album "Ethnic Experiences" but not any better.

Not much in the way of avant in my opinion, in fact it's quite the laid back album, sparse even. I was left wanting more. Of the eight tracks my favourite by far is "Overture" that seventh track. Just the way it builds and the bass stands out here. The fifth tune "Pessimistic Reggae" was not included in the re-recording of this album, so I guess they didn't like it either. Maybe that fourth song is the closest to avant with the humerous and unusual sounding vocals. I must admit this is confusing, maybe frustrating with the Russian language and liner notes. Interesting that their most recent release is called "War Songs" from 2017 where they are at their most avant, deconstructing traditional Russian music including marching band stuff. Here? Well this is barely 3 stars and far from adventerous.

The core of the band has been remarkably consistent with Roman Suslov (guitar, vocals), Dmitry Shumilov (bass), Andrey Solovyev (trumpet) & Mikhail Mitin (drums) have been in the band since 1989. Other members of this line up, Maxim Trefan (grand piano), Pavel Karmanov (grand piano), Sergey Ryzhenko (violin), Pavel Tonkovid (sax), have all appeared in previous versions of the band.

The band certainly benefits from having the expanded line-up with violin, sax & trumpet key parts of their sound. They certainly sound like a very tight band and this material benefits from having been played live for a period of time. For fans of the band this is a great album with a continued development of their sound and a bunch of great tunes. Highly recommended for fans of avant edgy folk.

The line-up for Geese & Swans consists of Roman Suslov / acoustic guitars, vocals, Dmitry Shumilov / acoustic bass guitar, double bass, vocals, Pavel Karmanov / grand piano, flute, Sergey Ryzhenko / electric violin, vocals, Andrej Soloviev / trumpet, Mikhail Mitin / drums, percussion.

The songs are of the short 3 to 7 minute variety and are generally lyrically based with guitar accented by wind and keys. Outstanding release and highly recommended.