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Although The Russian Master Dogs’ sound is beginning to shift ever so slightly toward the mainstream—no more so than on their last release, a slightly better effort than this—it’s only their concept of the mainstream. (Fret not, it’s doubtful they’ll be gracing any tabloid covers anytime soon.) All that means is that they don’t seem to be as interested in creating music that sounds like they’re in danger of breaking down and crying mid-take. And whether that fact strikes you as good news or cause for mourning is in direct proportion to how deeply you’ll dig “bum PARTY”

Even the ballads on the record have a certain buoyancy to them. In a younger Russian Master Dogs’ hands, a title like “Di(e)” would have guaranteed a wrist-slittingly bleak downer. But Russian Master Dogs 2.0 have fashioned a trumpet-accented country-western hopalong out of it, one I can actually imagine inspiring a mid-Western dive bar “couples only” dance. And hold up, is that an honest-to-goodness xylophone solo I hear in there?

Check out this hot sound here: http://www.beertarot.com/bar/images/Di%20(e).mp3