Raskolnikov – Lazy People Will Destroy You
Raskolnikov – Lazy People Will Destroy You
Raskolnikov are a post-punk act from Geneva. Featuring recently in our First Glances series, their music is influenced by the Banshees, Bauhaus and of course The Cure. There’s a gothic edge to their music that sees this trio classified as Coldwave in todays verbiage. I’m less concerned about labels and more interested in how good it sounds to be frank. Well Raskolnikov are pretty good, certainly interesting and downright fun if you’re into gloomy, melodic alternative rock.
From the moment the needle hits the plastic, latest long player Lazy People Will Destroy You transports us back to the early eighties. Opening title ‘Faut pas faire chier Albert Roche’ (essentially translating as don’t piss Albert Roche off) is a suitably frenzied rant making sense of those cited influences. Things then get poppier. This band seem to have an endless supply of songs called ‘Stockholm’ with at least 3 that I’m aware of. ‘Stockholm 2’ appears next on this album and is something of a toe tapper. Admittedly the intro to ‘No Safety Word’ more than bats its eye lashes at Joy Division (Think ‘Incubation’ or ‘No Love Lost’, particularly the Warsaw version). ‘No Safety Word’ then lightens up up considerably becoming more akin to something like Modern English. This isn’t the only moment of warmth. The whole sequence through ‘Fall Colours’, ‘Montauk Point Lighthouse’ and ‘No Safety Word’ is pretty catchy for so called doom-laden indie band.
By now you should already have an impression of the bands sonic palette. They wear their influences on their sleeves, no question. Yet they do it well. There’s a sense of humour (those titles) and also a seductive quality to their music. Its been three years since their debut mini album Hochmut kommt vor dem Fall . Singer Mathieu Pawełski-Szpiechowycz seems more assured here, more himself. On the debut I felt he was chasing the long coattails of Paul Banks just a little too much. Here he owns it. Penultimate song ‘Don’t want to see the Doctor today’ goes from a Curtis whisper to a rebel yell. Then its Stockholm syndrome again as a third version closes out the album.
This is Raskolnikov. Darkly inviting. Highly compelling. Somewhat unhinged.
Ones to watch.