Pussy Riot – ‘Cyka’ album review: Euro-pop without a knock-out punch
If you haven’t come across the exploits of Pussy Riot before, you should definitely get to know them. They truly are a force to be reckoned with.
The Skinny: Indeed, they don’t really have a choice but to be, because if you’re going to choose to rail against Russian autocracy and make a laughing stock of one of the world’s most terrifying leaders, you can’t do it quietly. Pussy Riot have been blazing for years as a powerful political facet, and now, their debut album Cyka is being added to the arsenal.
The collective has existed in some form ever since 2011, starting out as a protest group and increasingly using music as a way to impart the message that the Russian people will not go down without a fight. Along the way, they’ve been vilified, they’ve been imprisoned, they’ve been exiled, and they’ve been classed as an extremist group in the country. It has all been leading to this moment.
Yet Cyka, translating to the word ‘bitch’ in English, transpires into some moments of show without punch. You would think that with everything preceding the album, including frontwoman Nadya Tolokonnikova challenging Vladimir Putin to a “cage match”, that there would be a bit more of a consistent, gnarly bite to the record.
Instead, that gets delivered in what can only really be described as nibbles. While jumping the gun somewhat, the end of the album provides the most blistering assault, between a run of tracks like ‘Disobey’, ‘God Loves the Fierce’, and ‘Cancel Me’, with the former in particular firing a minute-and-a-half of scream rock on all cylinders.
Yet in other areas, the wrath of this aspect of the album is all but absent. The sheer airheadedness of a song like ‘Nothing to Lose’, with all its EDM beats and sugary melodies, almost threatens to derail the whole message of the album as the entire politicised cause turns into a somewhat cheesy Euro-pop romp.
Throughout, there are flashes of what the record really wants to be. The title track, ‘Cyka’, takes a sample of Putin’s voice to mock the idea of Russian censorship, for example. But no sooner has that dust settled than it is followed up by the lead single ‘Candy Dopamine’, which swaps all their ire for a song about getting high on candyfloss.
The real winner is the track ‘Faceless Pigs’, deploring Russia’s war crimes and the culture of violence the country has strong-armed into the societal conscience. If there had been a whole album of this same power, it might have changed the world. But as it stands, Cyka seems to prove that Pussy Riot are better placed on the streets, not in the studio.
Standout Track: ‘Faceless Pigs’
The Verdict: In a geopolitical landscape as stark as the one we find ourselves in, you’d love to welcome any sign of resistance and platform it from the loudest speakers. But although Pussy Riot have undoubtedly done so much in the realms of feminism, politics, and the stark backdrop of Russia, it seems they have faltered with this major chance to show what they’re made of.
Release Date: June 12th, 2026 | Producer: Nadya Tolokonnikova/Gold Glove/Chris Greatti | Label: Pussy Riot via Stem
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Punk Newsletter
All the latest Punk content from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.