Наталия ПЛАТИЦЫНА  Unbidden Guest

"07" is a phone number you should dial to call operator in Russia. So "Unbidden guest" is an example of everything Russian: Russian voice, good Russian-style arrangements, Russian folk-music and mysterious Russian soul. Natalia Platitsyna's voice is not very strong or remarkably beautiful. Still it has a distinctive intonation of Russian folk-tunes, a desperate woman's sigh that makes a lamentation of every song. Women usually prefer pop-music to rock in this country, though fortunately there are several exceptions. Platitsyna's voice and manners are too peculiar for pop-music and too calm for the anguish of rock. So folk-stylization halfway from rock to pop is a proper use for such a voice.

"Unbidden guest" exists in this gap between pop-music and rock (Russian pop-music and Russian rock. Everything is very Russian in this story, extremely, unbearably Russian), between tedious "bang-bang" and sudden sax solos; between amateur "bla-bla-bla" and sudden perfect rhymes, between fortune and torture. "Aye, let the woe bypass me, aye, don't let my voice die", - sings Platitzyna and '07'.

The voice still rings. And it tells us a lot - about Russian style, Russian folk and mysterious Russian soul. The only bad thing is that in Russia we almost never dial "07".