
Charan-Po-Rantan are a group that by all metrics I probably shouldn’t enjoy as much as I should, but when they keep putting out releases as colorful and entertaining as their latest single “Ko Russia” it’s really hard not to. The title track is very freeform in style, quite chaotic and apparently has a Russian theme so I’ll take their word for it on that. Also included as b-sides are a cover of the theme song for the Sally the Witch anime, a self-cover in Russian (who does that?) of “Susume, Tama ni Nigete mo” from the pair’s “toritomenashi” mini-album and a second brand new track in “Kagami”. The latter is a bit more of a “traditional” take on the group’s core Folk style and provides the listener with a nice moment of relaxation after all of the energy and exuberance of the single’s 3 other tracks. If you’ve never given Charan-Po-Rantan a try before and are open to some fairly challenging musical compositions then this release provides a nice sample of what the duo is all about.
