VERNIS' V SORRENTO

АукцЫон (Auktyon, "Auction in English") formed all the way back in 1978 and has been one of the Soviet Union's / Russia's most successful bands having been one of the few musical exports to find its music heard beyond the confines of the Iron Curtain. Founded by Leonid Fyodorov and Oleg Garkusha at the Polytechnic Institute of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). Unlike many of the rotating band policies that Russian bands have typical practiced, AUKTYON was graced with a staunchly loyal bunch with several members having been with the band since the 80s to the present day. Technically still in operation, the band was most active during the 80s and 90s when they found their greatest success and most revered albums but has released 13 albums to date beginning with this debut "Вернись в Соррентоt (Return to Sorrento)" in 1986 and their most recent "На Солнце (In The Sun)" having only been released in 2016.

While the band over the years has been known for their brash and noisy use of horn sections and avant-progressive tendencies after having discovered the joy of avant-garde jazz as well as Central Asian folk music and the poetry of Russian futurist Velimir Khlebnikov, in the beginning AUKTYON was pretty much a mix of post-punk and 80s new wave laced with subtle doses of psychedelia and experimental touches. While released in 1986 and remember that this emerged in the Soviet Union, the first pressing was actually only available on the primitive technology of reel-to-reel. The album wouldn't find a re-release until 1996 where it found itself in the form of a cassette. A proper CD wasn't released until 1997 with a proper remastering. There have been three different album cover works quite different from the other. The 2014 release features a bonus CD and bonus DVD.

While most of the band's albums displayed 10 or even more performers, this debut only has a mere six with Oleg Garkusha as primarily lyricist and backing vocals (Auktyon were famous for their bizarre lyrical content in the Russian language), Viktor Bondarik (bass), Igor Cheridnik (drums), Leonid Fedorov (vocals, guitar), Dmitry Ozersky (keyboards) and Nikolay Rubanov (sax). The title track begins the album and tricks you into thinking that this is an Orthodox liturgical service as it is nothing more than an a cappella presentation but towards the end the saxophone joins in. The second track " Чудный вечер (Wonderful Evening)" takes a complete left field turn and finds the music sounding more like a swing revival type of band that would be more popular in the 90s. The groove is based on 80s new wave, sort of Stray Cats rockabilly blues with a sultry sizzling saxophone that is the most prominent instrument.

Overall the closest 80s related sound for this debut would be Oingo Boingo or Talking Heads only with a less jittery zolo infused energy (with a few exceptions) but captures similar use of horns, ska syncopation and catchy pop laden grooves dressed up in a rather post-punk attitudinal errancy. The vocals do remind a bit of Danny Elfman as well. The Russian language lyrics however give the music a rather distinct feel as language clearly changes the musical rhythmic flow which in this case adds an exotic feel. While not quite yet engaging in the more adventurous worlds of jazz-fusion, avant-prog and freak folk, "Вернись в Соррентоt (Return to Sorrento)" is a stellar example of 80s post-punk / new wave played extremely well and crafted with catchy hooks laced with unique saxophone contributions and enthusiastic keyboard runs, guitar riffs and vocals playfulness. While not the best the band would release, a strong and engaging debut nonetheless. Had this come out four or five years early, surely there would've been an MTV hit if they had emerged from the US or UK.