As important and exciting as Talking Heads were in the beginning of their frenetic career in the late ‘70s, so is ¡Forward Russia! at this time and place.  A risky statement, I know.  But one that I believe in.  With all of their unconventional lyricism, and their high-strung Byrne-like vocals swarmed by a punk soundtrack, this band is in the same level of creativity that framed Talking Heads early works.  With music that sounds like Bloc Party did on their first album, ¡Forward Russia! does on Life Processes what Bloc Party could not do with their 2nd release, and that is give its audience a better continuation.

Life Processes follows the magnificent debut, Give Me a Wall, with a collection of 11 brilliant tracks.  The band still supplies plenty of lyrical content that defy the norm but this kind of strangeness is a calling card of the band.  They have a lot to say and do not leave out a single word.  There is brilliance in that they can take a multitude of words (with dialogue, no less) and still create an enjoyable song full of heart and energy.

They have improved on their musical constructs to an even more satisfying level than before.  Tough, since their last album was excellent.  The first single is “Breaking, Standing,” a song that is perfect and, alone can make you a fan.  But it gets plenty of support from songs like “We Are Grey Matter,” a great Coldplay-like piano ballad in “Fosbury in Discontent,” “A Prospector Can Dream,” and the lengthy epic, “Spanish Triangles.”

Jump on the early arrival of the ¡Forward Russia! wagon.  With two superb albums under their belt, this band has a future that could be as satisfyingly luminous as Talking Heads were in their era.  Become a fan now and you’ll be able to brag that you were there from the band’s beginnings.

Someone get Lorne Michaels on the phone.

“Turn your ships around, we are all armadas now…”