Welcome to the Freak Show By Eric

This new album, written entirely by Igor Yuzov, marks a return to the more surf/boogie-oriented sound of the older Red Elvises releases. While in many ways not as adventurous as "Shake Your Pelvis", it also doesn't suffer from the production excesses that had marred the previous release.

While stylistically this album is much closer to 1998's "Bellydance", it's not a step backwards for the band. Departures from the core of slavic-tinged surf rock are handled cleanly, so the reggae-tinged "KeggaBeer and Potato Chips" and the vaudville sound of "Sex in Paradise" don't sound out of place.

Those tracks that feature the classic Red Elvises sound are strong. "Space Cowboy" kicks off the album in grand style, although due to the thematic material it's difficult not to compare it to "Rocketman." Nevertheless, it has some nice quirky moments to it that set it off from its predecessor - the sci-fi organs and the thickly layered chorus add a very nice dimension to the track. "Groovie" is even more classic RE; it opens up with a gypsy-meets-rock guitar solo and a barrage of rock-n-roll bombast drumming, then follows up with a deeply hook-laden chorus. "5 Million Miles" is straight-up rock, albeit slighly laid back, with a wall of fuzzed-out guitars pinning down the rhythm section.

The album has its quieter moments as well. The country-tinged title track, "Running Away", and the closer "The Show is Over" all have the sort of plaintive country-blues quality that Chris Isaak built a career on, complete with the shuffling beat and mellow vocals. "Cha Cha Cha" has a smoky jazzclub sound, and could conceivably be associated with a the heroine of a detective movie, if it weren't for the goofy over-the-top Red Army Chorus vocals. While the intent was to inject a bit of humour into the track, it does seem a little forced on this track, especially given that the lyrics themselves are rather eccentric.

In the end, this is very much a return to the sound that made the Red Elvises famous. While it can't hope to catch the frenetic energy of a live show, it does show that they can be quite skilled and subtle in the studio as well. The only detraction is the lack of vocal variety that prior albums had. While this isn't unusual for a band, those familiar with the Elvises are prone to expect Igor's basso profundo to be counterpoint to Zhenya's more laid-back slavic surfer. Nevertheless, this is a strong offering from Your Favorite Band.