SOVIET - We Are Eyes, We Are Builders (2001)

Genre:
Electronic
Style:
Electro, Synth-pop

Band Members
Keith Ruggiero - Vox/programming

Credits:
Artwork By [Design] - Plastiq /Grafiq Artwork By [Sleeve Concept] - Ronnie Martin /Artwork By [Sleeve Layout] - Eric Metzer /Producer - Ronnie Martin / Producer, Written-By, Recorded By - Soviet / Synthesizer, Programming - Chris Otchy / Vocals [Additional] - Nicholas Ruggiero/ Vocals, Synthesizer, Guitar - Keith Ruggiero

Tracklist :

01 China (5:10)
02 Commute (3:40)
03 Marbleyezed (4:09)
04 Lonely Days (3:49)
05 Circuit Love (5:21)
06 Breakdown (4:26)
07 L' Objectif (3:19)
08 Sensitive (4:25)
09 Run In (4:22)
10 Candy Girl (4:14)
11 Soviet Bot (4:44)
12 Modern Love (7:07)

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/16012928/soviet.html

new link :

http://rapidshare.com/files/16706868/soviet.rar.html

"Soviet’s debut sounds very much like the year 1982. Albums like OMD’s Organisation and Depeche Mode’s Speak and Spell are obvious reference points for this material. You know the deal, there are keyboards and lots of them. Most likely, there’s a drum machine accompanying the proceedings with perfect rhythm. There’s a guy up front crooning (though he could just as easily be speaking) revelatory and personal lyrics to this cold backdrop. So is the album a mere rehash of things past? Not at all. The synthesized tones age remarkably well, and aren’t at all intrusive. Besides, each song stands out wonderfully, with strong hooks and memorable content. After one listen, you are falling over yourself to hit the play button again in a vain attempt to connect those memorable melodies newly floating in your head. The song "Commute" is a wonderful example. Opening synths push us right onto the dance floor, surrounding us and mutating before us. A voice comes in behind the beat and informs us ‘we must commute’; singer Keith Ruggiero echoes the statement an instant later. Painting us a picture of a man lost among countless peers, powerless "divided we stand / united we fall", his clever reversal celebrating the individuality he longs for. His voice falls back, surrounded by spacier keyboards than before. His musings are nearly inaudible, but you can hear something about "the road less traveled" in there. Also excellent is the rolling "Lonely Days". Galloping drums and airy synths lead us to the singer sitting alone. "Here in my room, I sit alone and stare at pictures I never thought would cause me such pain". He pines for his lost love, "Have we done something wonderfully horrible?" He describes a reluctant relationship that preceded this heartbreak. The song builds up as the narrator comes to a nebulous conclusion. "There will always be a place in my heart for you" he intones quietly, though it comes across as a scream. We are Eyes, We are Builders is a great album. Songs don’t sound out of date, they sound like a group that has listened to a lot of synth-pop and has decided to make something out of that. Put Dave Gahan in there, it could have been a great Depeche Mode album. Not that Soviet are a Depeche Mode rip-off band, they are contemporaries that have recorded their debut album a few decades later." (http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/soviet/we-are-eyes-we-are-builders.htm)

"In early 2001, one of New York's finest new groups, Soviet, quietly released their debut album We Are Eyes, We Are Builders on an independent imprint(Head Records) The debut collection that fused the intense emotions of urban suburban youths with the sounds of the new computer culture, caught the attention of critics and music lovers around the world. NME magazine describes them as a five piece, new wave, electro pop collective that sounds like Roxy Music meets Suicide but more Duran Duran thrown in. VICE magazine places them at the number one slot in a guide of Electroclash artists raving Soviet is only like the hottest band and that they have become one of New York's best kept secrets. With a song on the Tech-pop compilation out on Ministry of Sound and the single "Sheltered Life" produced and co-written by Soviet for Erland Oye's debut album out on Astralwerks, this down town favorite is destined to reach a whole new audience.Though the name Soviet surfaced in 1999, the bands singer and songwriter Keith Ruggiero had been experimenting with a 4-track in his Connecticut home since the mid-90s. Teaming up with collaborator and fellow band member Chris Otchy, the band began to take shape and the pair started performing at shows around the country. With overwhelming positive response, they set out to create a unit that could bring the sound of their debut to life in a live show. With the addition of new members Amanda, Kenan and Greg, their latest shows have been nothing short of electric. With the line-up complete, Soviet have moved their home to NYC, the city that has embraced them so enthusiastically.Appearing at the SynthCon festival in LA and the Electroclash festival in NYC, Soviet has played alongside heavyweights such as Peaches, Fischerspooner, the Faint, Khan, The Killers, Add N to X, Stereo Total and the A.R.E Weapons. Rave reviews of their live shows have appeared in publications such as Paper, NME, Vice, V, the Village Voice and the shows have attracted a who's who of the contemporary electronic music scene. Shows at Exit, Joes Pub, Luxx and appearances at the aforementioned festivals have placed this group sitting high and fly on industry hot sheets. The single Candy Girl has become a favorite on the critically acclaimed New York Electroclash compilation on Mogul Electro as well as the forthcoming Ministry compilation.Ultimately the buzz and industry hype isn't what drives this group to produce such beautiful modern music and explore the emotional stirrings of an emerging new generation. It's their contemporary language and sonic textures that keeps them from being just another retro new wave group. Copies of their cover of Yazoo's In My Room have already started making waves in the underground dance clubs in NYC and samples of the new material shows the promise of major label breakthroughs. " (http://cdbaby.com/cd/soviet)

More review:
http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/s/soviet-weare.shtml

Biography:
Started in 1995, by Keith Ruggerio, Soviet is a electronic pop group from New York. With their debut cd "We Are Eyes, We Are Builders" they gained alot of press and critical acclaim in the then budding Electroclash scene. After extensive touring and strained relationships, they band is on a undetermined hiatus. Keith Ruggerio now lives in Los Angeles, California.

More info:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=14037766

http://www.decapolis.com/musicreviews/interviews/soviet.shtml an interview