The Tallinn label Seksound offers another fine example of Baltic dream-pop, on this occasion from Picnic. Kindred fantasies are equally audible in three simultaneous publications from Russia.
A handful of ambient instrumentals from Yekaterinburg this month are inspired by a particular motif: the timidity of Russian foxes. That same symbol gradually moves far from its quiet point of origin.
The well-respected MP3 blog Motherland has been asked to compile regular playlists by Moscow's Afisha magazine. Even among the first artists, a collective worldview starts to take shape.
A couple of new rock recordings find lyrical inspiration in the traditions of Soviet science. Other related publications look back further into the past, either to more introspective or theological themes.
The St. Petersburg quartet Polusa often speak about their hometown. Perched on the edge of the Baltic Sea, it combines the security of terra firma with a strange, foggy "freedom" beyond the shore.
The wonderful dream-pop of Estonia's Pia Fraus is celebrated in a new retrospective. Transferred to Russian soil, though, a related idealism adopts much darker tones.
Four fundamentally acoustic Russian outfits are using crowdsourcing or pay-as-you-will services this season. Fittingly enough, they also draw upon the traditions of jazz or cafe culture, in which trust is just as vital.
As the Russian winter closes in - and Christmas approaches - some opposing views transpire of what the future holds. They range from seasonal sentiment to full-blown Petersburgian anxiety.
Two rock bands from Russia's Pacific coast speak of their location in terms of romantic, if not tragic isolation. Moving inland, other ensembles from the Volga region view "wilderness" in very different terms.
The Kiev ensemble Marakesh has recently moved to Berlin. That physical relocation, however, is framed with some telling discussions of virtual or ideal processes - such as the workings of fate.
