Artist:
THE SOVIETTES
Label:
ADELINE RECORDS
Video:
“THE LAND OF CLEAR BLUE RADIO”
Director:
Justin Staggs
Add Date:
December 8, 2003

Happy Holidays everyone! It’s Andy Gesner and the staff at HIP Video Promo with our last awesome, must-see clip of 2003. What a year it has been for us here and we truly appreciate all your support and willingness to program videos that might otherwise remain under the public’s radar screen. We love to help break independent artists and thank you for always looking out for the indie rock musical underdogs!

For all our lovers of “in your face” musical mayhem, we have saved our best video of the year for last. So many of you welcome the straight ahead, no nonsense rock action and it is our pleasure to send you this fuel injected spurt of pure punk rock passion. Meet The Soviettes, an Adeline Records quartet that has turned the Minneapolis music scene upside down with their female fronted, sonically bruising rock and roll hullabaloo

The Soviettes formed about a year and a half ago. Annie Holoien (guitar, vocals) and Susy Sharp (bass, vocals) both moved to the Twin Cities area from Fargo, ND, where Sharp had played in a band called Bombshell. Holoien began writing songs with Maren “Sturgeon” Macosko (guitar, vocals), Danny Henry (formerly of The Short Fuses and The Dummies) was recruited as the full-time drummer, and the result was – revolutionary! This band defies easy description – they take the “classic” punk aesthetic in a whole new, delightfully skewed direction. They play downright ballsy punk pop and turn it into subversive fun. It’s like The Runaways without the superficial glam trappings, or The Go-Go’s turned to a life of crime. Lita Ford fans are gonna flip for this.

The video for “Land of Clear Blue Radio” is a perfect example of their combination of playfulness and attitude. They stage a hostile takeover of the radio, pending the construction of their own, which is scheduled for “tomorrow” – armed only with their instruments, dressed in ninja black and with faces obscured by ski masks (and with Susy Sharp insouciantly blowing bubbles) How freakin’ awesome! That mission accomplished, they shed the masks and brashly perform, fending off the feeble assaults of poorly constructed robots (Haven’t seen a guitar wielded like that since Pete Townsend clobbered Abbie Hoffman at Woodstock) and ignoring the prying eyes of the building security monitors (The ones that Sturgeon hasn’t occulted with her trusty spray can).

The song is rock n’ roll with the afterburners on, but, in the spirit of The Clash and The Buzzcocks, the lyrics Annie Holoien belts out are insightful and sharp edged. Danny Henry and Susy Sharp provide a rock solid rhythm, and Holoien’s and Macosko’s guitar lines form a sturdy steel mesh like a chain link fence. Khorosho bolshoye! It’s no wonder The Soviettes score all the cool opening slots in the Twin Cities, opening for the likes of The Shins, Rye Coalition and Dillinger 4.

To get programmers excited about The Soviettes, HIP Video and Adeline Records are teaming up to bring you the “Soviettes Takeover the World” contest. Any programmer that adds The Soviettes’ “Land of Clear Blue Radio” video in the month of December will enter a drawing to win the complete catalog of Adeline Records releases, including albums from AFI, Green Day and The Network. As always, you can call us at 732-613-1779, or email info@HIPVideoPromo.com.

Visit Adeline Records	Visit The Soviettes