Tarkovsky - Умер

Labels: Polar Summer/Red Truth Productions

Formats: CDr/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 29 Dec 2016

Tracklist:

1. Хаос

2. Гаррота

3. Котлован

4. Орлок

5. Мизери

6. Прощай, Оружие!

It's been quite sometime since my last Polar Summer related review. I don't know why because the previous four write-ups have been really popular. I first discovered the Russian emoviolence band Tarkovsky through an order I placed with Dingleberry Records via Discogs. While I was browsing I noticed Dingleberry had a number of Polar Summer releases for sale, including a CDr copy of Умер. This EP was released in late 2016 and was followed up by an early 2017 tape release via Kazakhstani label Red Truth Productions. It marks the last Tarkovsky release to date.

I haven’t published many reviews of late yet the blog seems to be reaching more people than ever (maybe that’s the key). Whatever the true reason, I’ve more than grateful for the attention and am going to press on. Tarkovsky’s opener ‘Хаос’ is a space-age inspired introduction filled with noise, atmospheric beats/effects and Russian spoken-word samples. It builds suspense, leading into ‘Гаррота’, which is a raw slab of melodic emoviolence. At times the riffs are repetitive but they fit perfectly.

‘Котлован’ is a moody, dissonant song that elevates Tarkovsky’s violent beauty to greater heights. I don’t know what more to say about it. ‘Орлок’ is equally as short as it’s predecessor, though that only really equates to it being heavier in all departments. Even when the closing few bars give way to subtle post-hardcore/metal textures, there’s still no escape.

Penultimate song ‘Мизери’ hits hard initially and reminds of how tired I feel. It’s a banger all the same and it’s intensity matches the sporadic nature of my attention span as I write this. EP closer ‘Прощай, Оружие!’ has the honour of being it’s longest song. It’s an instrumental song where guitar/bass tones could be mistaken for harsh vocals. 

This EP ultimately signalled an extended period of slience or end to Tarkovsky’s musical endeavours. It’s sad given how good this release is. I guess I’m going to have to dive deeper into Tarkovsky’s back catalogue somehow (not sure many of their songs are available online).

You can stream Умер and purchase it as a name-your-price download below:-

Tarkovsky - https://tarkovsky.bandcamp.com

Polar Summer's CDr copies are sold out but you can still grab tape copies from Red Truth Productions here - https://redtruthproduction.bandcamp.com/album/tarkovsky

Polar Summer - https://polarxsummer.bandcamp.com/

Red Truth Productions - https://www.facebook.com/REDTRUTHPRODUCTIONS/