Tatu - 200 Km/H In The Wrong Lane (by Jean-Sebastien Decarie)

Time of publication: 28.11.2002

Interscope Records 2002 Release

Tatu is one of the most interesting bands I came accross in several years. To say that I am simply addicted to their music/singing and their "message" underneath it all would be a HUGE understatement...

Tatu is a 2 girls band from Russia. Their new CD, 200 Km/H In The Wrong Lane is due out on December 10th 2002 in the Americas, however, it has been released since a little while in Europe and is storming the radio charts. I heard their first single called "All The Things She Said" ONCE on the radio and I was already hooked. Now, trying to find a band called Tatu but pronounced "Tattoo" on the internet took me a bit. But when I found more info and more songs of the band, and when I watched the All The Things She Said video, I had troubles keeping my jaw from falling on the floor... I didn't understand what the lyrics of this first single were about, but I quickly catched the meaning of the song when I saw the two girls, Yulia, 17 and Elena, 18, making out in what seems to be a school backyard where it's raining and being watched by people.. THEN the message became clear as day..

As it turned out, most of the songs on 200 Km/H In The Wrong Lane are about being in love with another girl and being confused. And what is Oh So Great about Tatu, is that their videos totally represent their lyrics. No teenagers trashing cars and whatnot singing a song that doesn't have anything to do with trashing cars (hint to Avril Lavigne). I already loved their music, and the conviction to stick to what the lyrics means in their videos appealed to me instantly!

While I may have questions about why both girls actually do some concerts in wet tshirts (remember, one of them IS underage) in front of lots of teenagers/kids (this wouldn't be legal here in Canada or the U.S.), my hope is, the producer behind Tatu knows what he's doing. Both girls voices are absolutely great AND different from what we're used to hear everyday which is part of the reason why I love their songs as much. All of the tracks on 200 Km/H In The Wrong Lane are superb and the majority of the songs are in English, while some are in Russian. About half of the songs are of the dance/trance flavor, while the others are a bit more ambient/new age. Definitly Euro.

And what makes everything stand together is the message behind it all. Highly recommended, an instant classic in my case!

Jean-Sйbastien Dйcarie

Thanks to convol.

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