Possibly still 'niche interest' but worthy of more exposure than an update to a dormant Eastern European pop thread, Elizaveta Gyrdymova / Monetochka has released far and away my favourite album of the year.
She debuted as a schoolgirl making viral, lo-fi casiotone chanson-pop with sharp lyrics about Moscow high-fashion streetwear (‘Gosha Rubchinskii’) and fearing that her mother was going to report her to the authorities under the mistaken belief that she’s an Anime Nazi (‘Mama, Ya Ne Zigayu’ / Mom, I Don’t Seig-Heil).
http://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/6347/liza-monetochka-viral-internet-pop-star-russia
This generated about as much excitement as you’re going to get from a set of songs that kind of sound like John Shuttleworth – TV appearances, guest verses on Russian rap mixtapes, etc, but the general sense was that, although clearly talented, she might struggle to break out of the confines of meme-pop.
Her second album - Raskraski Dlya Vzroslykh (Colouring for Adults) - produced with the alt-R&B musician БЦХ - is stunning, though. It fleshes out the bedroom-pop style of her debut into something much more substantial without losing any of the charm. Her lyrics, which you can find in translation online, remain great – covering everything from the state of the nation to her parents shutting off the internet when she’s meant to be doing homework, frustrating her aspiration of becoming ‘the new Lil Peep’ – but the music matches them this time.
Her ascendant star has been noticed by the Kremlin, with the government (perhaps unexpectedly) trying to tap her up to be the face of a new youth campaign – which she has sensibly steered clear of.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVUBdmsG-pM
The video for 90 is a tribute to the gangster classic Brat / Brother.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4h-WpSsXVw
― Wag1 Shree Rajneesh (ShariVari), Friday, 14 September 2018 12:01 (five years ago) link