Indians in Moscow are synthwave pioneers, originally formed in Hull (UK) in 1981. They had a No.1 indie hit in 1983 with "Naughty Miranda", followed by "Jack Pelter and his Sex-Change Chicken" and the "Big Wheel e.p.". The original band split just as their first self titled album was released.

Electro-pop gems of an early Human League meets Siouxsie And The Banshees mode! Catchy, Quirky and Unique. Absolutely not to miss!!!

Expanded version of Indians in Moscow 1984 masterpiece available for the very first time on CD with large bonus section via Other Voices Records.

Mick Mercer:

I always liked them so I’m a bit biased, but let me recommend this to you as a classic collection. Indians In Moscow were a great, pretty neglected, bunch of musical nutters from the 80’s, with twisted fairytales and pop-punk nuggets reshaped into a swish indie dancey meltdown, and left mangled by the process. If that isn’t enough, in Adele they had one of the best vocalists of that era, with a real rasp inside a genuinely mischievous voice. Having these on CD after over two decades is a great thing and being a limited edition of 500 I’d snap one up now if I were you. ‘Big Wheel’ is comparatively dull, being ornately creamy and dreamy, but it’s an attractive gliding dollop of pop. The floaty but deadpan line “some enchanted evening…that was” gently nudges ‘Meeting Place’ into a waking state. Synth and bass bubble and potters along beneath winsome wordplay. I can see why arch Toyah fan Chris Limb got into them as ‘Witches & Heroes’ has a real ‘Angels & Demons’ feel but done in a desolate, slowly unwinding manner, with a strangely scathing Adele scuttling through. A depressed, mottled ‘Howard's At Lunch’ has a beautiful synth line hanging around like a gracious mist as Adele unveils the line, “and where did I put my shoes? Well, I threw them in the pit…” which I always loved. The pit? I don’t know why but it always struck me as oddly brilliant. ‘Jack Pelter And His Sex-Change Chicken’ is a demented whirl with a capering synth line and raw pop pulse. Being seen as humorous probably killed their chance with the music papers, of course. That would never do! ‘Puppet Dance’ is almost like a slowed down, stretched out Bow Wow Wow, so imagine ‘Louis Quatorze’ in slow motion, and it’s every bit as good as that, getting better all the while Adele is growing increasingly demented. The crazed, flat but pushy ‘Square Dance In The Sepulchre’ is a mad, slippery experience and if this doesn’t cheer you up you should really be zipped up and buried. It is the only song I know of that mentions a grandfather dying of mxyomatosis.‘Love Song’ billows with a grander scheme afoot, all filmic and emotionally fidgety, with lovely guitar dripping out. ‘I Wish I Had’ then ups the moody pop ante with a skilfully subtle synth balance inside magical melodic seepage and a gloriously settled chorus. They sure did some right purty music! “I see your face in its decline” rules the disenchantment of the downward spirals in ‘Singing To French’ which again shows their darker, deeper side. Then we hit the one most of you will know. ‘Naughty Miranda’ grabbed them plenty of attention when they graced The Tube
“I just killed my father
He…died in his bed
The…room filled with laughter
I hope there’s a price on my head

“I slit his guts
With my blunt-edged play scissors
And sucked out his brain with a straw
His succulent blood can nourish
My goldfish
I keep all the bits in a drawer.

“There’s nothing in the larder
But I want something to eat
I could always start on my father
It would save wear and tear on my feet

“Some people say I’m bananas
I’m sure I don’t know what they mean
My goldfish are really piranhas
Things aren’t quite what they seem.”

The previously unreleased ‘Underneath The Tree’ is a bit sunset golden-hued grown up pop, albeit with strange gruff spoken vocals and the briefest of ululations.‘Slide’ has a wheezy majesty and a majorly weasel-like deportment. ‘Dies Irae’ is windswept and gloomily chiming with a hesitant translucent mania, being their weirdest song. Then there’s three extended mixes of ‘Naughty Miranda’, ‘I Wish I Had’ and ‘Jack Pelter’, before we finish with the 7” mix of ‘Naughty Miranda.’The only disappointment here is including the extended versions at the expense of the ‘Jack Pelter’ b-side ‘Salt’ which is an awesome thing all by itself, but you can buy that here as a download http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/indiansinmoscow2 I haven’t heard a lot of these tracks since the Eighties but they sound just as good now. If you have never encountered them before you’re in for a serious treatfest.

Indians In Moscow
Indians In Moscow

Release date: September 2011
Catalogue number: VOX7CD
Packaging: 4 panel digipak
CD Pressing: 500 copies
File under: Post punk / New wave / Synthpop
Artwork by: ?

1.Big Wheel
2.Meeting Place
3.Witches & Heroes
4.Howard's at Lunch
5.Jack Pelter and His Sex -Change Chicken
6.Puppet Dance
7.Square Dance in the Sepulchre
8.Love Song
9.I Wish I Had
10.Singing to French
11.Naughty Miranda
12.Underneath the Tree
13. Slide
14. Dies Irae
15.Naughty Miranda (Extended Mix)
16. I Wish I Had (Extended Mix)
17.Jack Pelter (Extended Mix)
18.Naughty Miranda (7" Single Mix)