Random Records with Steve O

Russian Tim and Pavel Bures - Greatest SuperHITs

Every once in a while I’ll randomly stumble upon something that’s just so awesome I gotta tell everyone how awesome it is. And thanks to a post on Dying Scene and an awesome band name, I stumbled upon Russian Tim and Pavel Bures. I gotta tell ya, everyone, it’s awesome. But first I gotta explain the name, right? Please tell me someone out there knows who Pavel Bure is? He was one of the fastest skaters to play in the NHL and one of the best goal scorers of the mid-90s. Watch some highlights in awe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFbSpvb8QUA. He played for the Vancouver Canucks during his best years, and has been honored by the Vancouver based Russian Tim and Pavel Bures for those glorious years.

And it’s that love of speed that shows up on Russian Tim and Pavel Bures’ second release Greatest SuperHITs, the follow up to the gloriously titled SuperHIT & The Other Song. All six songs here are blazing fast and the barrage of backing vocals give off a total party vibe. “Marshmellow” and “Skandal,” probably my favorite of these six tunes, particularly have a party atmosphere with the accompanying horns. And they bring up some melodies that you’ll recognize—Against Me!’s “Miami” in “Marshmellow” and from NOFX’s wonderful opus “The Decline” in “Skandal”.

What us stupid American listeners, and probably their uninformed Canadian listeners as well, don’t realize though is that these Russian expats are playing Russian pop and rock songs. But they’ve made them into rad punk versions, so it just sounds like Russian punk rock. It’s kind of like Gogol Bordello when Eugene Hütz sings in Russian or when fellow Vancouverites the Dreadnoughts use Polish. Check out Russian Tim talking about it to CBC. Indeed, “Tatu” is the only song here that has some lyrics in English, making it the only one you can actually sing along to, even though you’ll want to try with the rest of them. But they make these Russian tunes sound pretty damn awesome. For reference, you can check out the original of “Skandal” here. Russian Tim and Pavel Bures stay relatively true to the original, but they definitely make it more fun.

And that’s really what Greatest SuperHITs is all about, punk rock-ifying these Russian tunes and making them damn fun. Follow along with Russian Tim and Pavel Bures on Facebook. And check out Greatest SuperHITs; it is name your price on Bandcamp. Now I’m gonna go watch some more Pavel Bure highlights.