"They knocked at your heart,
at your misunderstanding”
Artist: t.A.T.u.
Title: Waste Management
Genre: Pop
Label: T.A. Music
TRACKLIST
TRACKLIST
01.White Robe / 02.You And I / 03.Sparks / 04.Snowfalls / 05.Martian Eyes / 06.Little People / 07.Waste Management / 08.Running Blind / 09.Fly On The Wall / 10.Time Of The Moon / 11.Don't Regret // 12.White Robe Fly (Dream Remix) / 13.Running Blind (Transformer Remix) / 14.Don't Regret (Sniper Remix)
PRELUDE
For writing The Review there is no reason to be objective - it is hard being a fan, it is hard when you have to describe such a state of soul. The album is, indeed, filled with pleasant sensations, so strong and emotional, almost frighteningly beautiful. I will, nevertheless, try to write not only about the good side but also about the bad side of this album. There is indeed a “bad” side of the album, I would say two things:
1. The time fans waited for it. The songs that were included in V.U. album were not new. For that reason some people also didn’t seem to get touched by the album, what I, personally, can’t understand. Each time I listen to the songs my hearts wakes up. It’s not about how many times I listen to a song, the first feeling is still there every time I listen to it.
2. The pronounce. English speaker fans and even Russian fans were disappointed for this small omission that in some way marred the whole image of the album. They sung with freedom, they are themselves. There is indeed the desire of showing true emotions into a creative harmony. I can tell they really performed feeling freedom. They maybe were not concerned about the accent. And that’s not an important thing since the power, the meaning, the essence remains.
THE ALBUM
I can imagine how much effort has been spent while creating the album and then on its birth; to create this masterpiece made purely for expanding horizons. The whole album has deep meanings, it gets you thinking, debating. I feel this album is a “continuation” of Ludi Invalidy, the consequences of Ludi invalidy’s actions.
Fans and critics tend to make comparisons between Waste Management and its russian version, “Весёлые Улибки” (Happy Smiles), but it's hard to make one, since Waste Management it's simply a different album, a masterpiece itself. The sound is different than in Happy Smiles, quite a different sound, maybe even better.
Pleasant sensations while listening to the album for the first time. I did listen to it before, online, but nothing compares to the feeling of having the album in the hands finally, it’s a pleasure to hold. Now it’s time to draw my conclusions, and listen carefully. With each listening, more and more I fall in love with the compositions, original, touching, addictive, musical originality. A pleasant surprise when I realized the combination of musical tracks with the interludes, written and arranged by Evgeniy Matveitsev. Nothing superfluous at all. Each track in its place. Their voices stick perfectly on the the music, the style. Their own style, they proved once again t.A.T.u. is like a melting of different styles, this time each style is a song, and each song melts, one into another, linked by interludes.
THE INTERLUDES
The interludes, as the remixes, totally give the original song a new meaning, they prepare you for the creative harmony, they are bridges between feelings, amazing as the composition itself, masterly musical fusion. It does feel like a story being told.
- Before You and I, energetic and dark, my favorite interlude.
- Before Sparks, I can see darkness, lights, city, the Happy Hour. Just like fire, burning.
- Before Snowfalls, Motorbikes, sirens, persecution, race, a real adrenaline explosion.
- Before Martian Eyes, Loneliness, melancholic. Just like a dream.
- Before Little People, In a moment I imagined some kind of lab, something mysterious. Then all kind of mechanisms. Like a factory, I remember Dangerous and Moving and the factory where Ludi Invalidy are created.
- Before Waste Management, My second favorite interlude, that’s for sure. So much energy, and the way it melts with Waste Management track is simply amazing.
- Before Running Blind, First time I have no words. Beautiful music and the melting again is something incredible.
- Before Fly On The Wall, The melting surprised me. Simply amazing. While listening, I got the feeling of someone hiding and watching.
- Before Time Of The Moon, It sounds like an image of something that is gonna end. Something beautiful breaking down. A prelude to the end.
- Before Don't Regret, Stunningly beautiful. A heartbeat that stops. Sad melody and ambulance/police. Sounds like the end f the video for Snowfalls. A Goodbye. The “Vsjo” Lena says at the beginning is almost like an image: the memories. Everything passing by.
1 White Robe Mechanical behavior , ignorance, time running, damages. Someone who’s in between life and death, someone who emotionally has left the body, but is still alive. No time to speak the true feelings. All time is wasted.
2 You and I Two lonely people, they only have each other. Living in fear. As the “They don’t understand us” we listened in “Not Gonna Get Us”. People thinks this song is about homosexuality, and the negative reaction from the outside. To me, it seems to be about some kind of “special” love, not necessary homosexual love, since t.A.T.u. is a special kind of love.
3 Sparks Erotic, refined touch. People enjoying themselves, loving each other. The love the its highest level of interpretation. The endless flow as the image of pleasure. “Fire is stopped and nobody’s winning” as the truth revealed: after the fire, they weren’t so happy as they thought. “Silly words looking for a meaning” – An amazing (more than amazing actually) sentence. The whole concept of love in one line. Love has been a recurring theme in all t.A.T.u. songs, now present in a different way: Not a teenagers love, it’s a different kind of love, refined and mature.
I want to add also, a little thought about Sparks and 220 as two songs with completely different meanings. The sound of the two songs can be perceived quite differently. And it has indeed a reason – the different meaning.
220 as the end of love, “Myortvym legko vdvoine”: the suicide as escape, as fast solution, dead people do not know how to love, that’s why it’s easier for them. Sparks as the moment of the beginning of love, a declaration of love. The word “220” I think it could be “replaced” by the word “love”, love is like an electric discharge. I also think love is present everytime they say “bunnies” and “squirrels”. Here and in Martian Eyes, I can feel those words could be replaced by “love” too.
4 Snowfalls The determination, the desire of moving on no matter what. Being together they will be stronger and will have strength to face situations. But at the end, “Everything goes away, dying and coming back” the image of Life itself, cycles. Everything will end. They fight till the end. “Driving into the light, wonderful lies to end” The light as the truth, the reality. Back to reality, there’s an end. Suggestive images during the whole song.
5 Martian Eyes I’m curious about the reason why this track was recorded only by Katina. Maybe because the main theme for me is the loneliness. Open and close cycles, miss someone. Conclusions after the break up, trying to find herself.
6 Little People They can’t be themselves during the day. Little people are hiding, and only being alone they forget the fear. The sentence “this tricky hide and seek is always fucking freak” draws rage. They’re not happy, they hate to hide, they want to be free and show their feelings. They’re weak, but “Little People reassemble” means they can fall into pieces and then rise again. A desire of freedom, “We will be on our way, we will be anyway” means they decided to be themselves no matter what.
7 Waste Management Some people can’t really feel the music and I have read comments of people literally saying this track is a “waste of time”. In my opinion, is a masterpiece – just as the album itself. t.A.T.u. always transmits an energy, there's no need to listen to vocals to feel such energy, such emotional message. They talk in the language of the feelings, so long time I don’t feel the music like I do listening to this track...
8 Running Blind As the title says, running. I see someone running, the sound makes you imagine somebody’s running. Maybe rain too. The song is a melting of excitement and fear at the same time…
9 Fly On The Wall Watching over someone, such an stalker song. The sound, lyrics, there’s an energy in it I can’t describe. Dark images, someone hidden in the shadows watching. Also, the line that says “You don’t know I’m alive” makes me thing maybe this person thinks who is watching is dead. It can also mean that they don’t know each other, of course. Like a star-fan relationship for example, where the fan “knows” the artist, but the artist has no idea who the fan is. There’s also the “obsession” element in this song.
10 Time of the Moon The beginning of the end. A warning. We’re killing space, destroying our planet only thinking in ourselves, as we kill life itself. All material, living our lives without a limit, without a destination. We as a revelation, the final one. “Spilling beans” leads me to think there are secrets being told. Maybe some truth? When we realize what we’re doing to out planet? “They draw the bridge, but it’s too late” We know the end is coming, we know what we have done, but it’s too late.
11 Don’t Regret Sounds pretty much as a Good-bye song. Yulia’s voice is so affectionate and Lena sang beautifully. They don’t sing anymore, changes, they are hear broken. “Cat’s in the bag, train’s at the station” the silent end. There were secrets to tell, but they weren’t discovered and never will. The melancholic touch made me feel a connection with the song.
THE IMAGES
I’m happy to be witness of Vladimir Byazrov's talent again, capturing the perfect moments.What called my attention since the first time I saw the pictures, was the contrast between the expensive underwear and the dirty clothes. Like the cold and "dirty" russian Y (Symbol or "U"pravlenie Otbrosami) surrounded by shinning diamonds. As Dangerous and Moving they are again in a factory. Cold images indeed. The facial expressions, the attitude, you can read a feeling in their eyes. I’m wordless about this photoshoot, one of the best t.A.T.u. photoshoots ever without a doubt. The picture where Yulia leads her hand covering the light is indeed an emotional moment, I remember You and I’s line “If we hide maybe we can make it through this”.
About the booklet, there’s a detail not so many people noticed and I did: In Little People’s page there’s a picture of a part of the astronaut clothes from V.U. Album. The rest of the images simply amazing. Every single picture in its right place, gives the lyrics a new meaning, an essence. Now the image of the bodyguard. It gets me thinking. Why is he there? Maybe he’s the one that’s going to manage the waste?
And I can’t forget the pre-photoshoot published, the pictures of Zhenya and Inga. This photoshoot gives such deeper meaning to the t.A.T.u. pictures. Black and white was definitely a great choose. My congratulations to Boris Renski, who took the pictures and had the idea and designed the set. Verry creative!
With nothing left to say - at least by now - this has been my review for Waste Management album. Thanks so much for reading!
Ira V. (aka tebya_skuchayu)
