Auktyon

Just about the only Russian rock band to nurse out a sound that resists an easy matchup with a Western source, Auktyon are consistently and wholly original. They are a legend in their homeland and a cult band in continental Europe where they spend half of their time touring. Their sound keeps changing all the time and now, complete with assorted percussion, multi-reed player, a trumpeter and a tubist, it approaches tight jazzy arrangements of Charles Mingus or Radiohead Kid A style.

Sure, they've traveled from psycho theatrics to lo-fi trickery to Beck and back, but with the constants (vocalist Lenya Fedorovs crusted-molasses voice, the clearly relished fret buzz, the tragicomic horns, and the truly bizarre stage presence of clowning percussionist Garkusha) still in place after 15 or so years, they are quiet simply the best music out of todays Russia.

"Legendary and undefinable, the veteran Russian alt-rock band Auktyon serves up a swinging, horn-driven skank thats drawn comparisons to Tom Waits and Beck appropriate enough, but still short of describing the bands boundless, theatrical energy and instantly memorable melodic hooks." - Time Out NY