The music on this album is described by the band as their attempt to do what Stravinsky once did for jazz. Without ever hearing jazz, he attempted to compose pieces based on what he had read about it. The music ended up nothing like jazz, and like nothing else either. In this case, one can definitely hear the Eastern influences in the music. Based on the romantic images they found in literature (Dostoyevsky, Pushkin, and Nabokov) and music (Stravinsky and Jarre), the resulting mixture is definitely interesting. Of course, we must stick in bits of Havalina Rail's usual avant-garde influences which results in an eclectic but interesting mixture. An instrumental piece called "Before Ararat" was my favorite.
The lyrics while definitely Christian are full of Russian imagery, such as in the song "Tundra":
An old tree runs down,
To every inch of ground
by an icy old stream,
And nothing that's green can ever stand...
Still the tundra calls me,
Still I find you care,
And then I find my saviour,
Fans of Squirrel Nut Zippers and Jason and the "G" Men will find many things here to like. Everyone else who feels their music has been a little boring lately could do much worse than pick up this album -- there is enough variety for everyone. The album's only drawback may be that it mixes too many different influences. Still, it works for me.
3.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
Exit Zine 1999Reviewed by James M. BranumHavalina Rail Company is truly unique among bands in either the Christian or secular industries. And in their uniqueness, Havalina has created something truly special. In their latest album, Russian Lullabies, they incorporate elements of Russian folk music, rock, rockabilly, classical, and jazz, and yet never completely identify themselves with a particular genre. The album is a concept album…Puddlegum 1998Reviewed by Kevin FlickHavalina Rail Co. is a band of artistic musicians that are ahead of their time, and should proudly bear the honor of being called avant garde. Their latest release, Russian Lullabies, is a daring musical masterpiece, driven by the central theme of lost love capitolizing on symbolism of the cold Siberian tundra. If an artist was searching for popularity, the direction that Havalina has gone would…The Phantom Tollbooth 1998Reviewed by Josh SpencerI read somewhere that the Co. studied traditional Russian music without actually listening to any, and then reproduced what they'd learned for this album. They do this with drums, plenty of background vocals, saxophone, violin, bass, male and female vocals, percussion, flute, a washboard, cello, xylophone, and guitars of varying types and tones (but usually not all at once)--their usual eclectic…The Phantom Tollbooth 1998Reviewed by James StewartI'm currently studying Russia in my history class so I was eager to hear this album - both to hear Havalina Rail Co's impression of Russian folk music and to explore the imagery they were reputed to employ here. To prepare for this album, the band studied Russian culture and music, without actually listening to any of the music, and mixed what they'd learned with their other influences to produce…Similar sounding releases
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