Volga Noire

Repertoire

1. I.

   Svetlana

   An Odessa thief, a marina-stall fortune teller, and a killer from Brăila. A ballad about how the Black Sea takes its time settling old scores.

   Ballad · Odessa
2. II.

   Alcohol and Tobacco

   A life told in three loyal vices — from a Komsomol boyhood, through middle-aged hypocrisy, to a Siberian cell where you'd sell out anyone for a sip and a smoke.

   Confession · Soviet
3. III.

   Legend of the Rookie Coast Guard

   A young lieutenant with a wife, a child, and a list of everything he must keep out of the country. No blue jeans. No John Wayne. No dissent.

   Marching whistle · 1970s
4. IV.

   Bridge of Spies

   1953. Two agents who once met in Sweden, meeting one last time at a checkpoint with empty pistols and nothing left to declassify. Acoustic guitar and cello.

   Cold War torch song
5. V.

   Funeral Groove

   A Romanian wake that nobody can quite remember the deceased of — but the ciorbă is ready, the priest is drunk, and the cats are already on the table.

   Romanian wake