When you bill yourself as an experimental rock band, a certain 'hit or miss' expectancy level kind of comes with the territory. In the case of this first release Kolchak! by Russian avant-garde outfit Motherfathers, this is a band that seems to enjoy walking the thin line between genius and madness, something they do remarkably well on their stronger material. When the band is on, it definitely makes for interesting listening. However, that being said a large portion of these of these twenty sonic experiments do have a tendency to meander at times, leaving a good portion of Kolchak! sounding rather unfocused.
The music which is primarily structured around a liberal dosage of various abrasive, electronic treatments, has a very industrial feel to it, but at the same time it also reveals traces of late 60's and early 70's, classic and psych rock elements as well. The liner notes state simply that Kolchak! was recorded in various locations around Moscow in 2005-2007, and by the slight differing quality of the recordings themselves, the feeling is that some of these tracks might have been recorded live and others done in a proper studio setting. Even throughout their icy, electronic assault Motherfathers still retain a strong sense of the organic, which is clearly evident through drummer Olga Nosova's fluid, jazzy rhythms and the jagged, slash 'n burn style guitar work of both Dmitry Peitsch and Maxim Elizarov. The vocals reflect a dual personality at work as Peitsch alternates between manic screeches and a melancholic, reflective tone, which permeates the slower paced compositions, heightening their feelings of dread.
Kolchak! is certainly what I'd consider to be an acquired taste and it's musical styling won't appeal to the masses. However I've got to give these guys credit for taking the musical risks that they did. Does it all work together in the end and come across as something cohesive and fully formed? No, but it does demonstrate that Motherfathers are not afraid to take chances with their music, even though this disc is one that people are either going to embrace in full or end up throwing in the trash. As for myself, I'm going to hold on to mine for awhile yet.
Track Listing
1) Look At The Sun It Burns Everyone
2) Dirty Scissors Invention
3) Nacho
4) International Bourgeoisie
5) Uptight Buddha Reset
6) Go!
7) Shiver
8) Avenue Cracking Truck
9) Chemicals Gone To Her Head
10) You Suck My Tongue
11) Goat To Go
12) Stale
13) Otesanek
14) Night Of Sand
15) Burnin' Down The Sinners
16) Bad Weather Service
17) Mannequin
18) Dummy Bear Needs A Friend
19) Ribbed #45
20)White Noise
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