List | S | Sadovaja | 'Kill Your Darlings' CD 2000

Track:	Name:	Time:
1.	Gavilov	3:40
2.	Come For Once	3:17
3.	A Sweet Design	3:42
4.	Silver-Ex	4:20
5.	The Mess You Offer Me	3:07
6.	Trademark	3:46
7.	One Aeon More	4:20
8.	Missi	5:29
9.	Dirty Curve	3:17
10.	Kiss Your Darling	4:27
11.		1:29
	Total	40:58

Comments:

One of the great things about music festivals is that you can discover new music you'd never find otherwise. When I read the program for the Arvikafestival 2000 the name Sadovaja had an interesting description ("it sounds as if Alphaville got beaten up by Missy Elliot"), so when I was there I decided to give them a chance. So, I went to their show. On the stage were some keyboards and gear, and out walks a woman wearing lots of make-up, having an ugly-trendy haircut, smoking heavily, wearing a hideously pink outfit; some pink top, pink stockings and a very very short pink skirt. "Omigosh", I thought, "this is going to be painfully bad". And then they started. And her voice was beautiful. And the drums were stuttering drum machines. And it was glorious. And I was so, so wrong. And I jumped up and down like an idiot.

The music sort of reminded me a bit of a softer Lamb or a Portishead on speed; female vocals over breakbeats, fairly soft but still very powerful. The sounds were pleasingly synthetic sounding; no trying-to-be-real-instruments crap, but drum machines that really sound like machines and synth basslines that makes you think in terms of VCO:s and VCF:s.

After a few songs the singer said "right about now, a string quartet would be nice", whereupon I thought "yes, that would be nice - I guess we're in for a nice little ballad with some soft keyboard strings here". Then she said, in a somewhat sharper tone, "I said, right about now a string quartet would be nice", while glancing to her sides. "Goddammit", I thought, "she's bringing out Fleshquartet", who I knew where also playing at that festival although I didn't have the time to see them. Well, I wasn't entirely correct; a string quartet did in fact appear (with slightly embarrassed looks on their faces), but it was not the brilliant Fläsk. On the other hand, this quartet was infact just the thing to fit the music. Strings, female vocals and breakbeats. And, as much as a string quartet can rock without being Fläsk, they did in fact rock.

And then, at the very end of the show, what do they do? They decide to play a cover. They decide to play Love Missile F1-11. And it was good. It was so, so, very good.

At the very first chance I got (namely very shortly after the show) I bought their CD. This is it. So how's the music on disc? Well, it's not quite as utterly brilliant of course; stiffer, smoother and calmer, but still very, very good. The string quartet appears here and there as well.

Sometimes it sounds like the excellent Mine, only less jazzy and more funky, but still with a similar sense of coolness. Sometimes it sounds a little bit like the best parts of early Cardigans (or what they might sound like if Nina didn't have such a terribly weak voice), only a whole lot better.

I get the feeling the singer is also the songwriter, and that her words and music are backed up by some techno-dude, not unlike the concept said Mine or Lamb, only different. I could of course be wrong about this; there is no information in the booklet to either support or disprove this theory, only the lyrics, credits, and some godawful pictures of the singer, looking only slightly less trendy than at the show. I guess time will tell, because something tells me I must follow the progress of this band. Unless, of course, they decide to go "pop" and leave this particular style I really like. It's quite rare to find an electronic-based band with such a good singer; people who really can sing usually tend to do pop music, since they're usually quite happy with singing and don't really care much about whether or not the music sounds interesting as well.

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