The mainstream churns out soulless hits, but some artists refuse to fade. The Bolshoi Brothers, a duo reborn from the ashes of ‘80s new wave legends The Bolshoi, ignite their debut eponymous album, released in March 2025 via Electronic Music Records. Trevor Tanner and Paul Clark, now US-based, reconnect after 35 years, crafting 11 tracks that blend indie rock’s grit with new wave’s shimmer.
This isn’t nostalgia—it’s a spark that burns new ground.
Tanner and Clark, once architects of The Bolshoi’s charted “Sunday Morning,” recorded remotely during lockdown, Tanner in Florida, Clark in Seattle. Their home studios birthed a sound that’s both haunted and alive, mixed by Clark and mastered by Steve Turnidge at Ars Divina. No reunion cash-grab here—just two veterans finding their voice in our era’s chaos, proving distance and time can’t dull real art.
“Just a Girl” leads the charge, a black-and-white vignette of defiance. Lyrics like “Cast out in the grey streets, by a heart of stone” paint a lone figure, head high, staring down a cruel world. Tanner’s vocals, weathered yet warm, carry a melody that’s equal parts ache and hope, backed by Clark’s crisp guitars. “She’s a light in a world that’s gone dark,” the song declares, its video featuring Nova Clark as the titular fighter, a lover in a dog-and-pony show.
Tracks like “Suburbs” and “Ghosts Of The Past” dig deeper, peeling back layers of memory and loss. “Suburbs” pulses with new wave echoes, its synths glinting like streetlights on empty roads, while “Ghosts” broods with introspective weight, Tanner’s voice a quiet storm. “Cauldron of Despair” leans darker, its churning riffs a nod to their punk roots, yet the album never wallows—it fights. “This is music that stares into the void and laughs,” it seems to say, defiant and unbowed.
The production is intimate, almost tactile, letting every note breathe. Clark’s Logic wizardry turns Tanner’s rough ideas into polished gems, though some tracks, like “Mr Ridiculous,” flirt with quirkiness that risks breaking the mood. Still, the duo’s chemistry—forged in lockdown’s isolation—grounds the album in raw truth. They’re not chasing The Bolshoi’s old glory; they’re building something new, skewed, and vital.
The Bolshoi Brothers don’t care about TikTok trends or streaming stats. They’re here for the misfits who still believe in albums, in stories, in music that means something.
This record’s a spark for those who’ve walked through fire and kept going.
In our era, where pop’s a product, Tanner and Clark remind us that art can still cut deep, and “Just a Girl” is their blade, sharp and unyielding.
Follow and listen to The Bolshoi Brothers on their
website: https://thebolshoibrothers.com
Bandcamp: https://thebolshoibrothers.bandcamp.com/album/the-bolshoi-brothers
YouTube: https://youtu.be/xY_0hwnZjNw
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/34SI6jQ5Fh0vlYuiOWSSab