The Singles Jukebox

Russian reality-competition boy band fares not so well with us.

[Video][Website]
[4.17]

Cassy Gress: The actual phrase “pomedlennee” (“slow down”) is a bit earwormy, but none of the rest of this is. Nikita, the Russian one who kinda looks like Andrew Garfield, sounds like he’s not getting enough air to properly finish his phrases; Anatoly, the Kazakh one, doesn’t sound completely in tune (which is weird given that they weren’t afraid to use autotune in other parts of the song); and Artyom, the Ukrainian one, has a rap that mostly just serves to kill off whatever minor ominousness the preceding verses and choruses had built up. And poor Tom Colicchio gets beaten up for no good reason. 
[3]

Iain Mew: The rounded off synths make for a fun playground for them to clamber and slide about in. Then the rap break arrives from a very different place and closes down the playfulness to no particular benefit.
[5]

Ramzi Awn: “Poker Face” on steroids. Except the pulsing synths aren’t fooling anyone: “Pomedlennee” is about as subtle as a sledgehammer. 
[3]

Tim de Reuse: Sleek, slimy 90’s kitsch that redeems itself partially by being totally oblivious as to how gaudy those plucked acoustic guitar interludes sound. The overstuffed drama of it all is fascinating, and it grooves in a charmingly uncool way, but it’s too tiring to last through repeated listens.
[6]

Nortey Dowuona: It’s OK. Decent singing, average drums, bleh bass, non-existent guitar, and jutting synths.
[4]

Jessica Doyle: It’s… all right, I suppose. The chorus hook is interesting but the rest of the song fails to build up any momentum. Admittedly I’m finding it hard to separate the song from the vibe of hostile misogyny I’m getting from the video; and I can’t speak to the Russian-language market, but in terms of regional competition, Kazakhstan is currently teeming with boy bands doing work just as compelling (or more so, or much more so) musically, packaged with hostile-misogyny-free videos. (Example. Another example. My personal favorite example.) So if you’re looking for a pop group from a less common language to follow, you have better options, and if you’re not, I’m not sure what else MBAND brings to the table here.
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