By the time they settled into the studio in 1995 to record their third album,
the Ukrainians were a real band, road-hardened and serious, although a definite sense of fun continued to pervade their music. Having moved from punking-up traditional Ukrainian music to writing their own, it was easy to see the influence of
the Smiths on this Leeds-based band, in both the melodies and the style of singing from "The Legendary Len Liggins." But their particular blend of U.K. indie rock mixed perfectly with the Ukrainian sound, not only making it perfectly accessible for the C86 generation, but also hewing close to the tradition on songs like the slow-smoldering "Smert," which explodes into a mass of drums and accordion, or the acoustic "Horilka," with its surprising country overtones. Offering lush backing vocals from three Ukrainian vocalists, this had more gloss than their earlier releases, but at its heart there was still the inspiration of punk -- it's something you could imagine
the Mekons doing if they ever had the inclination. One of the true joys of the record, however, is amending the popular Pizni Iz the Smiths EP, where they hammer their signature over four
Smiths songs with great glee, connecting the dots between Manchester and the Ukraine, and showing they're a lot closer than anyone might have previously suspected. ~ Chris Nickson