1, 2, 3, 4, 5, breakdown!

So many different things come to mind when I hear this four-piece from Leeds (UK). Note that there should be an upside down exclamation point before the band's name and a regular one after it. That's how Forward Russia prefers to do things. They also prefer to name all of their songs after numbers.

Their stuff is prog-rock, but not like Yes, and it's staccato, but not quite like Nation of Ulysses. I hear Gang of Four, The Plot To Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, some recent acts like Franz Ferndinand and the Editors, maybe some Libertines, too. Oh, and you can't forget the Public Image Ltd influence. It took me a minute to figure out why the vocals sounded so familiar, but then it struck me. This guy sounds an awful lot like John Lydon (PiL era only).

Their album "Give Me a Wall" comes out on 9/19 on Mute Records. You can go here to check out the song "Thirteen" from Forward Russia. Then click on that picture of the band to check out their site. Of course, they're on MySpace, too.