Whatever Happened to Soviet?

No, not the Soviet Union. We all know what happened to them.

Soviet, the neo-electro band.

Soviet just may have been the band that started the whole neo-electro craze at the beginning of the new millennium ten years ago.

It all began with the April 2001 release of their album We Are Eyes, We Are Builders. Soviet was a New York City act and there was a budding "electroclash" movement (so it was named then) centered there around the same time. We Are Eyes was released right before the last free summer of 2001, before the terror attacks later that September. The key track on their debut album was "Candy Girl", a truly original, bubbly, sweet-sounding new wave pop song, complete with the singer's adoring chrous ode to "my candy girl" and that amazingly innocent synth whistle accent on the chorus hum-la-la. It's so charming and great sounding I can instantly conjure up images of friends running, screaming and dancing in water pouring down from an open fire hydrant on hot New York City pavement, or later melting ice cream cones and eventual awkward kisses on the pier underneath a scarlet sunset, even though I was never there. That's how vivid and successful "Candy Girl" and that whole album is.

Soviet jump-started a whole new genre of music. While mainstream music of the 1990s was centered on so-called "alternative" rock (in which the "alternative" was the mainstream), the truly independently-produced Soviet had a clear and unwavering fondness for synthesizers, drum machines and sensitive lyrics, all of which recalled the glory days of new wave in the 1980s, which had also started in New York City. So by 2001, Soviet's old-new sound was ripe for exposure and appreciation. It was time, after a decade of angsty rock, to bring back sleeker, more introspective, more fun music. Soviet filled the void, and then some.

It took over a year for We Are Eyes to catch on with the masses, however. Being an independent label, the original release was small and relatively obscure by the time the song "Candy Girl" actually caught on. So much so, it was re-released in the summer of 2002, but by then the world had changed. Still, it garnered more exposure and even more appreciative reviews (read one here and another here). "Candy Girl" was also featured on several compilations, perhaps most notably Ministry of Sound's This is Tech-Pop compilation from 2002.

Yet after Soviet fever died down, and dozens of similar bands rose to carry the torch on, nothing else was heard from them beyond live shows. In fact, by the time I had belatedly discovered We Are Eyes just a few years ago, they still hadn't released a follow-up. Their discogs.com file was depressingly stark and empty, featuring only a listing for We Are Eyes, but no singles, no EPs and no compilations. Not even any remixes. What happened? Even with today's second wave of more vigorous neo-eletcro, artists keep in touch with their fans and release music one way or another, even if it's just one mp3 at a time. But all was silent on the Soviet front for way too long.

Fortunately they do have a website, and I eventually did discover a follow-up called Spies in the House of Love, which was released in 2009, eight years after We Are Eyes, but, according to the website, was actually delayed since 2003. I eagerly obtained Spies giddy with excitement about what this now-legendary band had created following their debut. Sadly, it's not at all what I expected and wanted to hear. Spies is more rock-influenced than synthesized, and the vocals sound totally different, more, dare I say, "emo". Since emo was in high-gear in 2003, I'm guessing the band suffered from a classic case of retro-guilt and wanted to sound more fresh and up-to-date, even though the neo-electro genre they helped launched was as fresh as anything. Disappointed, I wrote-off their debut as a one-hit wonder never to be touched or duplicated again. And how 80s is that?

Today, it seems like too much time has passed for Soviet to capitalize again on their whimsical independent electronic music credentials. More importantly, maybe they don't want to. Their website has no other news or updates, although there is mention of a rarities compilation that maybe has some "vintage" We Are Eyes-era leftovers and b-sides. I'd definitely give that a try, if I could find it.

What will never change is the impact their debut had, and the delightful listen it remains a whole decade later. For all the talk of "80s" and "new wave", Soviet's contribution to the music world is looking pretty timeless to me. Thanks guys.