t.A.T.u. is back. Sort of.
The game-changing, faux-lesbian-turned-one-half-homophobic “All the Things She Said” Russian troupe released their third English studio album Waste Management at the end of 2009 (the English counterpart to Весёлые Улыбки), which went generally unheard outside of Russia.
It sold 1,000 copies in the United States – but it was also a No. 3 hit in Mexico, apparently. El sabor.
Their final album was also never made available on streaming…until now.
On Friday (August 28), the record miraculously surfaced, and has thus immediately won this week’s #NewMusicFriday. It’s a must-listen for the uninitiated. Waste Management is a wholly electronic/downtempo record, as deliciously angsty as their back catalog, with an experimental, at times trippy edge. (Lena said it was partly inspired by Pink Floyd.)
There were even three singles (and music videos) released from the record: “Snowfalls,” “White Robe” and “Sparks.”
The album includes production and writing from one of the band’s co-creators, Sergey Galoyan, as well as the legendary Billy Steinberg, who previously wrote “All About Us” for the duo, contributing the standout “Fly on the Wall.”
Sadly, the girls ended their all-too-brief ride a few years later to embark on their solo careers (and continue to cause controversy in different ways), but this is nonetheless a delightfully shocking development – and a fascinating glimpse at what could have been.
And if you’d like another trip 200 km/h down the wrong memory lane, check out my interview with the girls from 2012, in honor of their 10th anniversary.
This album is featured on the MuuTunes Spotify playlist. Subscribe
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