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Liam Carey reviews
200 KM/H IN THE WRONG LANE
Universal/Interscope
- Year: 2002
- Rating: 8/10
- Cat. No: 066 231-2
Track listing:
- 1. Not Gonna Get Us
2. All The Things She Said
3. Show Me Love
4. 30 Minutes
5. How Soon Is Now?
6. Clowns (Can You See Me Now?)
7. Malchik Gay
8. Stars
9. Ya Shosla S Uma
10. Nas Ne Dagoniat
11. Show Me Love (Extended Mix)
12. 30 Minutes (Remix)
Over the past 12 months, t.A.T.u. – a pair of nubile Russian teenagers, Julia and Lena – have systematically conquered the pop charts across mainland Europe. The rest of the world is next on their agenda, and on the evidence of 200Km/h In The Wrong Lane there is little to stop them.
This international debut is an expanded re-issue of the mini-album released in their homeland during 2001, with the lyrics now sung primarily in English and a handful of extra tracks added (native-tongue originals of two songs, plus remixes of two others).
As modern pop coninues to blur the boundaries between music and pornograhy, t.A.T.u. could be seen as the next logical step… their image and videos focus heavily on lesbian tendencies while also playing on several male fantasy cliches. All The Things She Said, the first UK single, features a video with the girls dressed in school uniforms, passionately kissing in the rain. It borders on soft-porn, but – possible outrage at such openly homosexual behaviour by young teenagers in a pop video notwithstanding – it actually works, and certainly avoids the nasty taste of all that aggressive humping by Aguilera et al.
Part of the reason t.A.T.u don’t offend as much as they might do is down to the music itself, which is dynamic without being threatening. Trevor Horn, no less, oversees the project, and once again applies his studio fairydust to create an accessible brand of brooding European technopop. He co-writes as well as produces much of the record, and given that he was responsible for arguably the greatest single ever made about gay sex – Frankie Goes To Hollywood‘s Relax – Horn is ideally suited to working with t.A.T.u., providing real substance to these songs.
The opening brace of tracks come on like The Chemical Brothers or The Prodigy, a full-on aural assault with plenty of excitement, and tunes which don’t expose the girls’ limited vocal abilities or occasional problems with enunciating the English language.
30 Minutes is a stately ballad in the Roxette mould, and destined to be a future smash, while a cover of The Smiths’ seminal anthem to angst – How Soon Is Now? – is surprisingly effective, fitting in perfectly with the album’s lyrical themes.
Whether t.A.T.u. are built to last is debatable. This is manufactured pop after all, however enticing the final product, and the “are they or aren’t they?” interest concerning the girls’ sexuality can only maintain interest for so long.
The only blip on an otherwise excellent album is Malchik Gay, blighted by a very annoying melody and a truly horrid, chipmunk-like vocal treatment. The rest of 200km/h In The Wrong Lane shows how contrived teen pop needn’t be a bad thing, recalling the days when the genre was still approached with daring and panache rather than a safety-first arrogance.
Review copyright © Liam Carey, 2003. E-mail Liam Carey
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.