Ногу свело! [Nogu svelo!] (Cramp in the Leg!) is a popular Russian rock band, usually associated with humor and parody as well as accessible and sometimes childishly simple melodies. They have, however, experimented with many styles in the past and seem to pay particular attention to interesting instrumentation and arrangements as well as good production values. The extravagant style of their late nineties albums has however given way to a simpler and more commercially accessible sound in their post-1999 relases - perhaps a return to the guitar-centered sound of 1995’s Сибирская любовь [Sibirskaya lyubov’] (Siberian Love), yet arguably not possessing the youthful, hook-filled songwriting of that early-career round-up LP.
Of particular interest to English listeners is their nonchalantly imbecilic use of the English language (and, sometimes, wholly invented English-like language) in their earlier albums (the last few have been entirely in Russian): “she drew me away and locked the door/my girl doesn’t love me anymore/I didn’t say anything but in my head/I had a plan to make them dead” from the track “Super Creature” off Сибирская любовь is a good example of singer Maxim Pokrovskiy’s way with words |
