Balalaikas

• Artist: Trotsky
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1996
• Genre: Rock

Review

Ever find yourself wondering what happened to the sweet parts of Camper Van Beethoven after hearing its funky cracker-soul successor? Well, the jaunty bits of CVB live on in the songs of Reilly Atkinson. He even got most of the original band to back him up on this six-song CD. For the first two tracks, "Trotsky" and "Sweet Dream," think of the light skiffle of "Take the Skinheads Bowling" with a new vocalist. "Alfred Packer" (even the titles evoke CVB) is a gentle, Far East acoustic number; "Turn the Radio" a Kraftwerk-like cocktail, and "Claude Monet" a child-like, accordion-based sketch of the famous Impressionist. ~ Denise Sullivan, All Music Guide