Untitled, Pulse! Magazine (US), December, 2002

By N/A (Editor's Rating: 2 out of 5 possible stars)

Though T.A.T.U.'s debut album is a barely listenable swirl of disco/techno beats and piercing vocals, it's supposedly sold over a million copies in Europe, and it will surely rate as much press coverage in the U.S. as a Mike Tyson freakout. Why? Because Julia Volkova and Lena Katina are billed as Russian, teenage, lesbian lovers--and they're not afraid to sing about it. Songs like "Show Me Love" and "30 Minutes"--with its refrain "Out of sight/ Out of mind/ Out of time to decide/ Do we run/ Should I hide/ For the rest of my life?"--strike a fairly serious tone about young, scandalous love, but it's hard to take anything seriously on 200 km/hr in the Wrong Lane. When the music hits top speeds of 130 beats per minute, the duo's voices sound like the Electronica Chipmunks, and "Malchik Gay," which manages to be both catchy and annoying at the same time, suggests Enya being played at four times the recommended RPM. A straight-faced cover of the Smiths' "How Soon is Now?" doesn't help. Perhaps "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" would've been more appropriate, but then T.A.T.U. isn't in jest.

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