The Bolshoi were different. Their songs were dark and subversive, sufficient evidence for many critics to corral them under the ‘Gothic’ banner at the time of their debut album Friends – but they really only “flirted” with Goth. They oozed dark, pensive lyrics supported with inventive pop-goth guitar making them nearly impossible to categorize.
We are excited to reissue their 1986 full-length debut album Friends (or Fiends). Out of print for at least 30 years, this pressing is on white vinyl. Upon release, Friends reached the top of the Alternative charts, and the album’s first single ‘Away’ hit #1 on the CMJ charts. There were a ton of amazing reviews for the album that featured critics trying desperately to categorize their music.
PRE-ORDER: https://thebolshoi.ffm.to/friends
The suburban surrealism of the lyrics was rooted in the stories of characters on the fringes of society rather than brooding romantics, with an undercurrent of boredom, inadequacy, and violence. Not the usual themes for pop success!
Based in London, the band consisted of Trevor Tanner (lead vocals, guitar), Nick Chown (bass), Jan Kalicki (drums), and Paul Clark (keyboards). With powerful live shows The Bolshoi built a substantial following before disbanding in 1988.
TRACK LISTING:
A1. Away
A2. Modern Man
A3. Someone’s Daughter
A4. Sunday Morning
A5. Looking for a Life to Lose
B1. Romeo In Clover (Call Girls)
B2. Books on the Bonfire
B3. Pardon Me
B4. Fat And Jealous
B5. Waspy
“Trevor Tanner’s songs scraped away at the surface of suburban normality to uncover the darkness beneath, and he knew how to deliver a bombastic powerchord and reverb drenched riff.”
– Q Magazine
“The Bolshoi’s strength lies not only in the clever use of knobs and strings and keys and things, the juxtaposition of profanity and purity, innocence and lies, but also in the dank, darkly secret passages of their will.” – Melody Maker
