Grazhdanskaya Oborona
Nekrofiliya

LA RECENSIONE

With Grazhdanskaya Oborona (translation: Civil Defense) we fly directly to Russia, in a period ranging from the troika of the '80s to the early 2000s.

Igor Letov was the mind behind this ramshackle and authentically rocking project. A sort of Iggy Pop from the land of the Czars and a true institution in the Soviet underground. Not loved by the law but adored by the audience of his most ardent supporters.

With Grazhdanskaya Oborona, one of his many projects, Letov introduced the rawest and most minimal punk rock beyond the curtain.

Very simple songs, recorded with who knows what makeshift means, all tremendously "offbeat" and with no particular attention to melody or sound cleanliness.

"Nekrofiliya" offers us the best of this perverse minstrel's production.

Unfortunately, Letov passed away in 2008, but his work in the underground field, and beyond, remains alive and kicking!

Give it a listen. You'll find many naïvetés but also a pretty cool lo-fi spirit. Pure fun. Sometimes macabre (in the atmospheres, because unfortunately, I don’t know the lyrics), other times lighter. A punch in the stomach. From Russia with terror!