NAÏVE began in the Russian army, with vocalist Sasha Ivanov and bassist Max Kotchetkov leaving patriotism behind to form a punk band. They moved to Moscow in 1988 to amass the rest of their members and create a chaotic, anti-Communist message. Their storming breakthrough album, Switch-Blade Knaife, not only established a powerfully political notoriety—the group played in front of the Russian parliament in 1991—it also gained global presence as the first Russian punk record released in the US. 2018's album Make Naïve Great Again keeps up the same pounding tempo and dark, political insight.