The "Trabi" of the title is the affectionate colloquial diminutive of Trabant--the quaint, hapless little car that, as the Eastern European communist bloc collapsed in 1989, came to symbolise the banality, inefficiency and mediocrity of life behind the Iron Curtain. It is a time and a place that clearly obsesses London group Heist--this, their debut album, is riddled with lyrical references to the Cold War, and epically gloomy musical arrangements clearly constructed with visions in mind of lonely checkpoints, hatchet-faced border guards and coded conversations with overcoated men on snow-covered park benches. Heist's audacity in attempting to pull this off on an indie band's budget is considerable, but to their eternal credit it works far better than it should. The melodies are exquisite, the music consistently inventive--Heist forsake the traditional rock & roll props for violins, accordions, brass and bouzoukis--and vocalist Allison Thomson carries it with an imperiousness redolent of The Walkabouts' Carla Torgerson or Black Box Recorder's Sarah Nixey. With a bigger budget behind them, a masterpiece next time out is well within Heist's reach, but this is a hell of a fine start. --Andrew Mueller

Q: An evocative record bursting with Bad Seeds dramatics and Portishead-style paranoia

1. Friday Night At The Trabi Races 
2. Defectors 
3. Berlin Express 
4. The Man Who Came In From The Cold 
5. Under A Pale Sun 
6. [eastbound] 
7. Tall Buildings 
8. Red Square 
9. [dockside lament] 
10. Nine Circles 
11. An Error Message 
12. Cold War 
13. Goodnight Vienna 
14. Defectors (reprise) 
15. [sealegs]