Wednesday 29 January 2020

Belarus 2020 - Sasha Zakharik - Rocky Road


We thought we were done with Monday's lot from White Russia, but there's been one song that been burrowed so deeply into our psyche ever since that we just had to share the strange, wonky joy with you. I'll warn you though, because just like those Lithuanian Basketball Players, this tune is a bit like a disease - but a highly enjoyable one that you really won't mind catching for a bit.

It might be corny and dinky donky, with a vastly repetitive chorus and sung in a curious deep warbling voice, but there's something so innocently enjoyable about this little romp. It's the musical equivalent of a slightly overweight local policeman walking through the streets of a small rural village on a sunny Spring afternoon while waving at children. And it's almost impossible to hear without swaying from side to side involuntarily.

And Sasha here's a true pro. She may look like she's just wandered in on a break from her office job, but she delivers the fun with much aplomb and poise, even managing to incorporate instructions to the sound desk into her minimal happy-go-lucky dance routine. It's almost as if we've been thrown back in time to the early days of Sheena Easton, and the legendary DJ John Peel's corralling his formative Sheena Barmy Army in an utterly un-ironic manner to encourage us to throw aside our artistic pretensions and just enjoy the fun, dumb, happy music for what it is.

And do you know what the best thing is? This was actually one of the 12 Eurofest final qualifiers, so we'll be seeing it again - although this time probably in a posher frock and with a few bouncy dancers kicking their heels about. Altogether now... "I'm OK on this rocky road..."

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