Ultra Bra is very often nicknamed “belated Finnish ABBA”, which is only true to a very limited extent: their melodism is much more sophisticated than ABBA’s, not talking about the texts. The songwriters actually started their career by winning a local political song contest with a left-activism song “Ampukaa komissaarit nuo hullut koirat” (“Shoot the Comissars, Those Mad Dogs”).
“Moskova” is a very painful still a very sincere vision of Moscow in 1990s. I still keep jesting that the line
…tilaa kaviaria ja valita palvelusta…
(“order caviar and complain about service”)
should be taken as the slogan for a new Russian coat of arms. In Finnish, why not. Nothing changed since that, did it?
And, of course, something to be sung to those we love:
Minä suojelen sinua kaikelta
Mitä ikinä keksitkin pelätä
Ei ole sellaista pimeää
Jota minun hento käteni ei torjuisi
I will protect you from anything you will imagine to be afraid of, there are no such crepuscular horrors that I would not be able to drive away with my gentle hand.
Watch them sing in their last impressive live concert before they split up.
First published in the Levinarium Telegram Channel (now closed and deleted)