Recently appeared " the Ukrainian Gothic Portal " amazes imagination of the Russian visitors with a spouting stream of the Ukrainian Gothic collectives - and personally I'm flowing struck too suddenly opened to our look to abundance. By descriptions, the great mass of collectives actively "untwisted" by a portal - belong to the area rather poorly submitted in Russia "dynamical" gothic groups - darkwave and gothic rock, however there are also exceptions. One of them is collective from Odessa FLEUR, about which on gothic.com.ua is written: " Pleases that fact, that FLEUR already feel itself as a gothic style and are one of the most perspective groups of the Ukrainian gothic style - stage " and name the strange term " an acoustic gothic style ". To tell the truth, I don't know, whether so it actually, but the citation is taken from the report on a concert of collective in Kiev in which their sounding is plentifully compared to sounding groups with Projekt and Hyperium. I'll allow not to agree with reviewers. Certainly, I was not at a concert and I can judge only on kindly given disk, but, in my opinion, similar comparisons are not absolutely justified. Certainly, if to judge to formal attributes - such as " both there and there a female vocal and play on a violoncello ", that, probably, similar parallels and are pertinent, but I would not venture to hang a brand "gothic style" on this tremendous group. I'll start with that the most part of groups from the mentioned labels works first of all not actually above sounding, and above creation of a "gothic" atmosphere - not without reason many groups with Projekt and Hyperim in people name " a pure gothic style " - and because of this their atmosphere and name "ethereal". With FLEUR the situation is a little bit other, despite of melancholiness and the lyricism penetrating all album, it's hard to call their music and an atmosphere "gloomy" or "Gothic", nevertheless the group is closer to neoclassic area, and with a share impurity of such primordially female lyricism in spirit the HUMMING-BIRD or Irinas Bogushevskoj. If to speak about neoclassic side, the nearest analogy here - Moscow collective CAPRICE, which too rather difficultly unequivocally to call a gothic style though certainly some elements of gothic aesthetics in their sounding are too present. And still a key to creativity FLEUR - female lyricism. If CAPRICE keep harmony between the man's and female beginning, FLEUR, in structure of which four girls and only one young man on percussion, and a little sessional male musicians, cause associations with already mentioned the HUMMING-BIRD and Bogushevskoj. And personally in my modest opinion, a label "gothic style" to hang on them nevertheless it is a little unfair, their creativity reaches far for frameworks this style, and aesthetically is much more diverse. The album is impregnated with lyricism, music is sad and very beautiful, music simply bewitches beauty of melodies and a vocal, and lyrics of group (in Russian) at height too - the excellent album distinguished by truly "female" romanticism.

© Coroner, translation - Mashenka