t.A.T.u. – Нас не догонят

It was basically innevitable. I’m totally unashamed of my shameful fascination with t.A.T.u. Sweeping the “teenage lesbian Russian schoolgirls” bullshit aside (which, I openly admit was how they were originally marketed), I genuinely love their overproduced, undeniably pop, lyrically questionable music. And hey, which part of that can I not level at, say, Abba?

The first album was enjoyable (produced by the awesome Trevor Horn), the second followed suit with a slightly more mature production around it and then… Well they just sort of disappeared. Problem is, they were better than their launch gimmick allowed them to be, and they never shook it. And unfortunately, they were still urged to play up to it. So I totally forgot about them.

Then in 2014 I found out that Lena had gone solo and that there was a 3rd, poorly marketed album. Called different names depending upon the territory (Happy Smiles / Waste Management) it was very obvious that the two of them were no longer working together well, it felt very much like an album by two artists – one who could sing and one who (unfortunately due to larynx issues) could basically now shout or mutter. But the Lena-driven songs were good, Fly On The Wall being a great example of the sound they used to have.

Driving across the Nevada desert, I played an interesting version of that album, mixed as one long continuous track. Always remember pulling into Las Vegas just as the album ended. It got me right back into them, and so here we are.