AuctIon - Whirligig

The new disc of the cult Saint Petersburg band “AuctIon” is called “Whirligig”. There are 11 tracks that I hardly noticed while listening to the disc… Not taking into account the orgasm-like state I was in after listening. It happened despite the fact that I managed to single out only two songs at first – “Fire” and “Homba”.
By the way, the album starts with a string cacophony that can be heard in joint albums of Fyodorov and Volkov.  But it does not surprise you much because Vladimir Volkov has become a member of “AuctIon”. There are a lot of such sounds on the new disc and they unexpectedly match the arrangement of the songs. You can hear a cat purring in “Fire” and it gives you the shivers. The songs of “Whirligig” are evidently made in the “AuctIon” style. However, “Homba” is probably the most classical track typical of the old “AuctIon”.

The third track “Snowstorms” surprised with its melodic pattern and reminded me of the band “Zveri” for some reason. However, the song changes so much a few seconds later that the sound becomes AuctIon-like.

There are three songs written by Oleg Garkusha in “Whirligig” – “Nature”, “Leathern” and “Pencils and sticks”. The last two are notable for some special strain. Garkusha sings and recites poetry and starts shouting. The phrase “it is so leathern, it is fashionable” is shouted out by a chorus in “Leathern”.

At the same time you can say that the disc is unexpectedly light. However, Leonid Fyodorov, the leader of the band, thinks that it was meant to be like this. Life is getting harder and music is getting lighter.

It is worth noting that all the eleven tracks of “Whirligig” were recorded in eleven days. They were recorded altogether and the live performance is noticeable. It does not mean that the quality is bad – you just feel like at a concert. Moreover, it added a zest to the ninth instrumental track written by Vladimir Vlkov. One of the songs that sticks to you memory is “Past”  - it impresses with a bass part that could not be expected from “AuctIon” – it breaks a record. It was recorded after 30 takes.

When the last sounds of the album fade away – you have an incomprehensible feeling. You think: “What is was?”. And then you think a second later: “Is that it? I want more!” the album “Whirligig” is very strange and wonderful and it twists you in different emotions changing them quicker than the songs. The disc will not disappear from by playlist anytime soon.

Track list:

01 - Fire
02 - Homba
03 - Snowstorms
04 - Cones
05 - Midday
06 - Nature
07 - Leathern
08 - Past
09 - Flying
10 – Pencils and sticks
11 - Whirligig

"AuctIon" at the moment of the recording:

Leonid Fyodorov - vocal, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion
Oleg Garkusha – show, lyrics, recitation, vocal
Victor Bondarik – bass guitar
Dmitri Ozerski – lyrics, keyboard instruments, percussion, trumpet
Nokolai Rubanov – saxophone, bass clarinet, pipes
Boris Shaveinikov – percussions
Vladimir Volkov - double-bass
Mihail Kalovski – trumpet, trombone
Mihail Rapaport - sound producer

Assistants:

Sergei Starostin – clarinet
Anatol Gerasimov – flute, saxophone
Yuri Parfyonov – trumpet
Nikolai Sarabyanov – guitar