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Russian Futurists
Our Thickness
Upper Class Records, 2005
by Dr. Christian Carey Matthew Adam Hart makes laptop pop under the unusual moniker Russian Futurists. The name is playfully misleading on two counts: Hart is from Ontario and his music is as much about harnessing past influences as it is about futuristic elements. RF's third full length, Our Thickness, mixes eighties-inspired 'big hooks' with contemporary electronica devices.
The soundscape of "Paul Simon" is filled with a wall of synthetic brass and electronic drums, pitted against a confident new wave hook. "Our Pen's out of Ink" is more overtly IDM in construction, setting a keyboard lick that parodies a "rock 'n roll" ostinato against layered vocals. "Still Life" is populated by a loping, syncopated rhythm track; Europop vocals and strings waft over this in an intriguing (and gratifying) juxtaposition. Throughout Our Thickness, Hart evokes pretty things from past pop music; all the while he tests their boundaries, questions their conventions, and offsets them with fresh laptop inflections.
-June 18, 2005