The Crimea - White Russian Galaxy Single Review

The Crimea
White Russian Galaxy
Single Review

White Russian Galaxy is a prime example of what The Crimea do best, joyful psychedelic pop acting as a backdrop to deceptively bleak lyrics, (the song is about the drunken young girls singer Davey McManus would regularly see when he worked in the parks around London.)

The influences are evident, the little arpeggios in the verses and the big bouncy chords in the chorus recall R.E.M. at their stadium-filling "Man On The Moon" peak, and the keyboards and squelchie bass evoke The Flaming Lips.

This is not to say that The Crimea are shameless indie copyists. They fuse Davey McManus' poetic and literate lyrics with rich soundscapes and are a world away from the zeitgeisty dance-rock bands who can't see further than the next nightclub. The Crimea are flying in the face of fashion and are all the better for it. Buy the single, then buy the album, and make The Crimea as huge as they deserve to be.

Ben Davis