Music Review: The Russian Futurists - Our Thickness

The Russian Futurists are a lo-fi indie pop band from Toronto. The band consists of just one member, Matthew Hart (with additional members for live shows). He recorded his first three albums (The Method of Modern Love, Let's  Get Ready to Crumble, and Our Thickness) in the bedroom of his Toronto home, which gives the music a very raw, un-polished feel. His fourth album was the first to be recorded in a studio, and honestly I don't think it has the same effect as his earlier albums. The music style is kind of hard to describe. It's generally given the labels of lo-fi, or indie-electronica though. Russian Futurists songs are characterized by fairly catchy pop melodies played on keyboard, with slightly distorted vocals, and other keyboard sound effects. Personally, my favorite album is his third release, Our Thickness. It's not quite as cohesive as their other two albums perhaps, but to me every song is just really solid and it makes for an overall super enjoyable album. However, the first two albums are really great as well, and his first album has been praised by critics and some high profile artists like Graham Coxon and Peter Buck. Although Our Thickness is my favorite album, i'd have to say my favorite song is either this, from Let's Get Ready to Crumble:

or this, from The Method of Modern Love:

and if that isn't enough for you, here's my favorite song from Our Thickness too, because why not:

Overall, I just think that the Russian Futurists are one of those bands that, though they've had great critical recognition, deserve a lot more than the minimal commercial success that they've received so far. They're fiercely underrated.