Joga are a new act from the Ukraine led by the virtuoso talents of Maxim Shevchenko. Not only does Shevchenko play most of the instruments on this record but is the owner of a powerful voice that deserves a much wider audience than the cult Internet following that he currently commands.
Against a backdrop of glacial electronic beats and synths, 'Iaonit' makes for a graceful beginning which doesn't quite prepare the listener for the passionate 'Herbarium' or the full-on melodrama of Shevchenko on the brilliant 'Eyeflash Flour'. Strangely, 'There Exists' echoes Air's 'Sexy Boy' and - most alarmingly - the heavily vocodered 'Idiots' resembles the horrors of Italian popster Eiffel 65. Yet although it's not a perfect record by any stretch of the imagination, 'Sola' excites enough to put the Ukraine firmly on the map of post-rock; often offering a reminder of the greatness of Sigur Ros' first album.
Joga are a new act from the Ukraine led by the virtuoso talents of Maxim Shevchenko. Not only does Shevchenko play most of the instruments on this record but is the owner of a powerful voice that deserves a much wider audience than the cult Internet following that he currently commands.
Against a backdrop of glacial electronic beats and synths, 'Iaonit' makes for a graceful beginning which doesn't quite prepare the listener for the passionate 'Herbarium' or the full-on melodrama of Shevchenko on the brilliant 'Eyeflash Flour'. Strangely, 'There Exists' echoes Air's 'Sexy Boy' and - most alarmingly - the heavily vocodered 'Idiots' resembles the horrors of Italian popster Eiffel 65. Yet although it's not a perfect record by any stretch of the imagination, 'Sola' excites enough to put the Ukraine firmly on the map of post-rock; often offering a reminder of the greatness of Sigur Ros' first album.
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