¡Forward, Russia! - Give Me A Wall

¡Forward, Russia!, prancing around with your erronious punctuation, who the bloody hell do you think you are, exactly? The kids in polka dots may say you’re cool, but who are they to claim tastemaker status? Every time we mention your name we have to do some wiggly alt + whatever keystroke to get that upside down exclamation effort right; this isn’t bloody communist Russia, you buggers.

Being honest, being in the vicinity of bleedin’ ace means we’ll let it go; it’s hard to hold grudges when we’ll need all our fingers and toes to count the song titles. ‘Give Me A Wall’ is the climax of two years of bloody hard work: something that, when DIY first came across a fledgling ¡Forward, Russia! supporting The Ordinary Boys of all people, didn’t immediately seem likely. By the time Leeds’ first Nastyfest came around they were firing on all cylinders, and it’s been upwards ever since. A story that goes hand in hand with that of guitarist Whiskas and his Dance To The Radio label, they’re more than part of why everything is supposedly brilliant up north.

‘Nine’, their already re-released debut single, is the statement of intent that saw ¡Forward, Russia! explode onto a barely prepared music scene just over a year ago. Vocalist Tom Woodhead’s post hardcore operatic screeching hitting a barracade of guitars, bass and drums is far more catchy than you’d ever give it credit for, especially when the cowbell kicks in.

Indeed, to say there’s nothing even remotely pop about ¡Forward, Russia!, they’ve got a couple of tunes in the locker. ‘Twelve’ sounds like Einstein being hit in the face by the entire musical output of 1979, while both parts of ‘Fifteen’ could confortably crush a listeners’ brain, if they’re not careful. Even when things are turned down a notch, it doesn’t last long; ‘Sixteen’ turns from understated duet to shrieking mayhem in the blink of an eye.

So, ¡Forward, Russia! may not be easy; they’re doing things on their terms and nobody elses, but oddly enough it seems to be working. Stadium rock it isn’t, but they’ll bring The Cockpit to the ground every night of the week, given half a chance.