Album Review: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Fly By Wire

Even the band’s name suggests empathy: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, hailing from Springfield, Missouri, make a suitably merciful impression with their latest LP, Fly By Wire (Polyvinyl Records). Delicate echoes of early ‘80s synthpop (“Unearth,” “Cover All Sides,” “Ms. Dot”) complement moments spiked with a bit more shimmer and thrust (“Nightwater Girlfriend,” “Young Presidents”), making for a disarmingly intoxicating mix of indie pop. Incidentally, the Russian government apparently gave more consideration to the band’s moniker than the band did in picking it (go figure), and so it invited SSLYBY to participate last year in a cultural exchange mission. Now, there’s no hard evidence to suggest that SSLYBY’s performances for schoolchildren and the like in the former Soviet Union softened any administrative hearts and minds, but Syria wasn’t convinced to comply with a chemical-weapons accord all on its own—just saying. Maybe SSLYBY can get Pussy Riot out of prison, too.