Vuara – Less & Without (Меньше Слов & Без Людей)

Brace yourself for something that looks a bit friendlier than it sounds: Vuara from Petrozavodsk or Петрозаводск (Karelia). Their self-description (on Bandcamp) reads more like a warning: “A clot of dark and chaotic sound straight from the belly of Karelian swamps, escaping from the throat with a cry of socio-political longing.”

Vuara is still young. Music videos are for later, and their repertoire is still limited. Just one album, but it weighs heavy enough for two: Свобода шума (Freedom of Noise, 2020). Here are two songs: one about less (words) and one about without (people). Even with the lyrics in front of you, understanding them is an art in itself – and today we’re focusing on that reading aspect.

В словах всё меньше слов

(lyrics also available with the track on Bandcamp)

    when silence deafened the air,
    when thought understood idleness,
    a dull dream was torn apart by the crackling
    of vocal cords
    hearing lost its touch
    from the burns of silence
    and in words there are fewer and fewer words