Smirnov Ice EP Music is like the concept of time to me. A $15,000 dollar Rolex Men’s Champagne Dial Day Date Super President does the exact same thing as a $100.00 Casio. The Rolex just looks a hell of a lot better and has a style that will never fade unlike the allure of a Casio calculator watch from 1985. Rock music is similar in the fact that ANYBODY can write a rock song. Trust me; I used to own a recording studio. Anyone can do it but, much like a Rolex, some just naturally do it better. On his new Ice Ep, Smirnov proves that he is the Rolex of Rock music and he is just waiting for you to notice. The CD opens with the sound of Ice. Honest to God as soon as I heard it I knew what he was going for and it works brilliantly as an intro into “Ice Orkestra”. The Symphonic touches that blow in and out from the background of this song add to the overall power of it and help make it sound as huge as a glacier. The chorus for this song is tailor made for concert halls full of fist pumping kids singing along. “Forest Queen” has a beautiful innocence about it and playful lyrics that makes it a cut about your average rock love song. The opening line “My Name is Wolf/ I’m Running Wild/ But Not Tonight/ I Saw You Dancing Down On Forest Lane” sets up the rest of the song like slow pitch in a homerun contest. Smirnov lets his voice take center stage on “Give It to The Wind”. He has one of those voices that you hear and it instantly strikes you as familiar and natural as if it was there all the time and you just noticed now. “Feeling” opens up with a piano that sounds like it is terribly out of place on this EP. That is until the guitars burst into the room to restore order to the song. I wasn’t sure about this song at first. It sounded at first like he was trying to fit too many words into the verses but then after a few listens I heard what he was doing and how it fit together nicely. The last song “Evrika” is the highlight amongst highlights. The melody that wraps around the music is absolutely gorgeous. I have come to find out that the original version of this song was created when Ivan was 14 and still living in Russia. This song is proof to me that this guy has something special that you can’t learn from a music lesson. It’s that something that was there at birth and will always separate Smirnov from the rest of the pack. There is something about Smirnov. I'm not sure whether if it’s his ability to write a Rock melody that rises and sores high overhead like a screaming Phoenix or if it’s because his songs are so good that they pull you in like good music should. In reality I really don’t care what the reason is just as long as this guy keeps providing me with music that is a failsafe for any day. Do yourself a favor and go to Smirnovmusic.com and stream this EP or listen to the provided media player for a taste and hear for yourself what natural ability sounds like. Key Tracks: Ice Orkestra, Evrika, Forest Queen Doug Morrissey- Musikreviews.com Staff December 7, 2011