Lenin i Shumov are one of Torontos best-kept secrets. Shared members with worthwhile local acts and a track on the snapshot Toronto is Great release officiate their inclusion into the citys Blocks Recording Club canon, but the band are tragically understated as one of the clubs best acts. Their self-titled EP is tangible proof of what live audiences have known for awhile now: Lenins whiplash nervous energy is a force to be reckoned with. The EP is a melange of noise front-man Eugene Slonimerov howls inhumanly in Russian, two drummers make a surprisingly funky clatter, and the rest of the players hunch along in a violent shuffle. The band owe a thing or two to the post-punk complexity of the Ex, but Lenin are a self-contained entity. Musically adept yet given to animalistic dissolution, the bands measured-yet-anarchic approach to battering post-punk is more inspired by the collective appetite than the ideas of other artists. Considering this, its no surprise that the group work best as a live act, which warrants engineer Jeff McMurrich an accolade for having well captured the bands assets. Without question one of Torontos most capable acts, heres hoping the EP will drill Lenin i Shumov's presence into new geographic locations.
Do you feel like the EP is more of an introduction to your sound, or a work in itself? Slonimerov: I think its a work in itself; a snapshot of what the band were at that time. I think when we recorded it we were still searching for ourselves a little bit, so now I feel more like Im working on something that Ive found. I have a musical language now there are references within it as opposed to outside it. I think we just discovered something, and were really excited and recorded it, and now we can keep going.
Are there any thematic links on the EP? I wrote most of the songs when I was coming out of a relationship, so its a lot about one girl actually. Its very abstract, she wouldnt have even figured it out if I didnt tell her.
Whats next? We wrote some new material: a lot of lyrics and song ideas I thought of while I was in Moscow this summer, because it was very inspiring to write there. Were gonna work on recording that this year, and take it slow this time.
(Blocks)Do you feel like the EP is more of an introduction to your sound, or a work in itself? Slonimerov: I think its a work in itself; a snapshot of what the band were at that time. I think when we recorded it we were still searching for ourselves a little bit, so now I feel more like Im working on something that Ive found. I have a musical language now there are references within it as opposed to outside it. I think we just discovered something, and were really excited and recorded it, and now we can keep going.
Are there any thematic links on the EP? I wrote most of the songs when I was coming out of a relationship, so its a lot about one girl actually. Its very abstract, she wouldnt have even figured it out if I didnt tell her.
Whats next? We wrote some new material: a lot of lyrics and song ideas I thought of while I was in Moscow this summer, because it was very inspiring to write there. Were gonna work on recording that this year, and take it slow this time.