Search - Soviet :: We Are Eyes We Are Builders

Aaron A. from VIRGINIA BCH, VA
Reviewed on 4/5/2012...

Euro-electro-pop with a decidedly Brooklyn touch. Great pop album that avoids the trendy elements that often date electronic music. This album will still sound great 20 years from now.

SOVIET :: electro goth rock

Carl W. Walsh | 07/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Most of the info below is from flamingfish.com:



Band Members:

Keith Ruggiero (1995 - ?: vocals, synthesizers, guitars)

Chris Otchy (1995 - ?: lead synthesizers, additional programming)

Amanda Berkowitz (programming, backing vocals?)

Kenan Gundoz (guitars, backing vocals)

Greg Kochan (rhythm synthesizers)



History:

The New York City-based outfit known as Soviet was founded in 1995 by synth-wiz Keith Ruggiero. The band was heavily influenced by the music of the early synth-pop artists of the late 70's and early 80's, including Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, Georgio Moroder, Ultravox and early O.M.D., among others.



The outfit gained national recognition after becoming part of the burgeoning "ELECTROCLASH" scene that grew out of New York City shortly after the start of the new millennium. This new subgenre combined the image of punk rock with a revival of 80's synth-pop music.



Soviet became the first outfit to represent the "ELECTROCLASH" sound in the Christian music market after signing to Plastiq Musiq, the indie electronic music label founded by Joy Electric frontman Ronnie Martin. The band's debut album, We Are Eyes, We Are Builders, was released in mid-2001 and became a hit in both the Christian and secular electronic music scenes. Songs like "Commute", "Marbeleyezed", "Circuit Love", "Candy Girl" and "Soviet Bot" (which is NOT a remake of the New Edition song) all featured catchy dance beats, uptempo melodies and retro synth effects that deserved a wider audience.



The band reissued We Are Eyes, We Are Builders with a few different tracks on the independent Head Records a short time later. Despite being mentioned in a Newsweek article on the "ELECTROCLASH" scene and drawing praise in other secular publications, Soviet has not released any new material since.



Although the band has also apparently tried to distance itself from the "ELECTROCLASH" label in recent years, its music may have influenced Aussie synthpop outfit Paradoxx to adopt the style on its last two albums, Teknologie and Atomika.



Current Status:

Keith Ruggiero is currently working on solo projects under the moniker KAR Songs (www.karsongs.com & www.myspace.com/sovietboy).



Discography:

Soviet - We Are Eyes, We Are Builders (Plastiq Musiq, 2001)

Soviet - We Are Eyes, We Are Builders (reissue with different tracks) (Head Records, 2001)

Soviet - Spies In The House of Love (2003) (unreleased)

KAR Songs - Moving Pictures



Compilation Appearances:

V/A - Electroclash: 2001 New York City Compilation (Mogul Electro, 2001) - "Candy Girl"

V/A - Plastiq Musiq New Musiq Volume 2 (Plastiq Musiq/Tooth and Nail Records, 2001) - "Marbleyezed"

V/A - Synthpop Megamix (A Different Drum, 2001) - "Marbleyezed"

V/A - Broken Factory Music (Broken Factory Music, 2001) - "Bank Holiday"

V/A - Electroclash Compilation (Ministry of Sound, 2002) - "Candy Girl"

V/A - The Fear of Musiq (Plastiq Musiq, 2002) - "Felton Jarvis", "Marbleyezed" (Stone Cold Mix)

V/A - This Is Tech-Pop (Ministry of Sound, 2002) - "Candy Girl"

V/A - Electroclash Compilation (Ministry of Sound, 2002) - "Candy Girl"

V/A - Nobody's Diary: A Tribute to Yazoo (Ninthwave, 2002) - "In My Room"

V/A - Evolution - The New Breed of Electronic Pop (Cohaagen, 2002) - "Bank Holiday"

V/A - Star Gazing (Guidance Recordings, 2003) - "Candy Girl"

V/A - Star Gazing (12-inch) (Guidance Recordings, 2003) - "Candy Girl"

V/A - U.S. Pop Life Volume 16: Extension of Electro: White Spaces Convergence (Contact Records, 2003) - "Marbleyezed" (remix)"

A good synth pop album which is unfortunately a bit cheesy a

C. Cross | 12/30/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Soviet isn't going to bring synth pop back into the forefront, but they do deliver the goods in terms of catchiness and fun. "We Are Eyes, We Are Builders" contains a TON of VERY good synth pop songs (pretty much the entire album's worth). The songs themselves aren't very interesting lyrically or vocally (he's not bad, but the guy could work on his singing style. The lyrics are also pretty memorable and relatively easy to sing along with), but overall the pros far outweigh the cons. Even if it IS a tad cheesy, what synth pop albums aren't (in the world of synth pop, this and Joy Electric's "Hello, Mannequin" clearly stand out)? The material isn't groundbreaking, but like with Superdrag's "Regretfully Yours" the AMOUNT of good synth pop here makes it a good buy for any 80's/synth-pop fan. It's just an extremely entertaining synth pop album. Synth pop fans will definitely dig this. Highly recommended!



Highlights include:

"Commute"

"Circuit Love"

"Marbleyezed"

"Candy Girl"

"Lonely Days"

"Breakdown"

"Sensitive"

"Run-In"

"China"

"Soviet Bot" (certain parts)"