Part of a long-running history of once-underground Eastern European
art rock bands (Czechoslovakia's
Plastic People of the Universe are probably the best known to Western audiences), Russia's
Auktyon blend abrasive
free jazz and
prog rock (think of
Henry Cow and the rest of the European "
rock in opposition" scene) influences with loose, danceable rhythms that will be instantly familiar to anyone who's ever seen a
jam band. The combination enhances both sides of the equation, giving the more
experimental aspects an approachable context and making it harder to dismiss
Pioneer as an album for recovering Deadheads to do the Awkward White Boy Wiggle to. This results in tracks like the bizarrely tuned
"Son," which sounds like a mash-up of one of
Robert Wyatt's acoustic tunes from the
Soft Machine's
Volume Two and a particularly noisy and lurching
Residents track, alongside more familiarly Eastern European-sounding tunes like
"It's Not Late," which slowly envelops a
gypsy-style acoustic melody in waves of cacophony.
Auktyon is not for the faint-hearted
worldbeat listener -- at the very least, some familiarity with
Captain Beefheart will be a tremendous help, especially with co-lead singer
Oleg Garkusha's bearish growl of a voice -- but most of a musically adventurous bent will likely find it quite fascinating. ~ Stewart Mason
![O Brother, Where Art Thou? [Original Soundtrack]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0008817006925_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "O Brother, Where Art Thou? [Original Soundtrack]")
![Beggars Banquet [50th Anniversary Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0018771850229_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Beggars Banquet [50th Anniversary Edition]")
