Troyka

This band has a song called “Rub-a-Dub-Dub Troyka in a Tub,” which lends credence to Richie Unterberger’s assessment that Troyka is a parody of some sort, a goof on psychedelic hard rock as it existed at the turn of the decade. Unterberger, writing for allmusic.com, has this to say in regards to the trio’s self-titled debut: “… you wonder if Troyka was a real group or one just thrown together as a tax loss and/or a joke… Most of the tracks are not so much conventional songs as basic riffs with some doofus-sounding (and improvised-sounding) vocals…” First released in 1970 on Cotillion Records, Troyka is an odd combination of driving guitar riffs, punishing rhythmic patterns and bizarre, almost comical vocals. If you can get past the ridiculousness of what qualifies as singing, Troyka on occasion rocks hard. “Natural” and “Burning of the Witch” would sit well on the shelf of any hard rock enthusiast, while both “Early Morning” and “Life's O.K.” are fairly adventurous instrumental pieces. Perhaps a more serious approach—or at least a legitimate lead singer—would have extended the band’s career. It didn’t turn out that way, of course, and Troyka quickly became one of the stranger lost artifacts from the psychedelic era. File under: “Doofus-sounding.”

Notes: Here is a song called "Burning of the Witch" by Troyka: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHTaPr_SxhI&feature=related.