Dance music getting reviewed by the Bluesbunny? What is the world coming to? Next thing you know we will be drinking Earl Grey tea and eating muffins. Of course, we are going to try to justify ourselves by saying that Salon Boris are more than mere dance music and perhaps they are…
There is that solid electro beat running through the proceedings as you might well expect but there is also humour and charm. "Bride of Boris" reprises the mantra of the Russian Internet bride while it gets your woofers slapping. It could just be an accent thing, of course, but Tatyana Bugayev's vocals had a quite compelling charm. Since the other half of Salon Boris - Tom McGarrigle - does not even get his picture on the album sleeve then we can safely assume that Ms Bugayev is where our attention is meant to be directed. Other standout tracks included the bone dry "Weapon of Mass Distraction", The Human League-ish "Money" and rather sleazy "Poor Bobik". Despite the plastic construction of all the songs (and a tendency for the songs - like much dance music - to ramble on longer than necessary), they did not feel empty and cold.
As dance music this album works well with some truly deadly beats and interesting melodic flourishes that allow it to survive in the daylight. There was also a CD of remixes in the package but they managed to overstay their welcome very quickly. There is more to Salon Boris than meets the eye however and the smart money is on watching how this band develops.