Recently, I tried to get a freelance writing gig for Seven Days. I made the first cut of wannabes and as my next assignment was told to review any album from my collection. Sadly, armed with the following album review, I didn't make the second cut. Noneltheless, I had fun writing this little piece, and have decided to free it from captivity on my flash drive and give it eternal life in the blogosphere.GOGOL BORDELLO,
SUPER TARANTA!
(SideOneDummy Records, CD)
“If we are here not to do/What you and I want to do/And go forever crazy with it/Why the hell are we even here?/Heeyaah!” The double meaning in the lines that open Gogol Bordello’s excellent latest release, Super Taranta! is as clear as the unconditional self-confidence the band flaunts: In life as well as in music, if you don’t have a purpose, you might as well go home. In the case of New York City’s Gogol Bordello, their purpose, according to exuberant front man Eugene Hütz, is to take over the world. Time will tell whether or not they accomplish this goal, but two things are for sure: they will have had a hell of a time trying, and during their journey, they got to hang with Madonna.
Ukrainian-born Chernobyl refugee and ex-Burlington transplant Hütz brings more than a gypsy mustache and a mullet to the music scene. He brings an urgent and contagious energy that is the signature of Gogol’s live shows, but which translates amazingly well in the studio. You couldn’t count the times he screams “Yeeaah!” and “Woooaah!” on the disc, but he lets them all fly with equal sincerity, emphasizing his beliefs on topics ranging from religion, on the straightforward stomp “I Don’t Read the Bible,” to the gypsy lifestyle, on the frantic “Wonderlost King,” to struggles associated with love, on the tender ballad “Alcohol.”
The formula to their inimitable sound is simple. Borrow the basic structure and chords of traditional Ukrainian folk music, change the rhythm a little, leave the accordion and fiddle right up front, blend in the standard rock trio of guitar, bass and drums, and add a couple of female cheerleaders for good measure. Plug it all in, and you have Gypsy Punk, a perfect dichotomy between Eastern and Western music that is catchy yet refreshingly diverse and appealing to fans of multiple genres, from Ska to Reggae to Metal.
There are no weak moments or album fillers on the disc, and the energy never lets up, but towards the end of Super Taranta!, some listeners may feel as though they’ve broken into a bottle of good Russian vodka, and perhaps should have taken a few less shots. Others, however, will want to keep on indulging, tear their shirts off, and scream “Heeyaah!” and “Wooaah!” until they’ve conquered the world.
SUPER TARANTA!
(SideOneDummy Records, CD)
“If we are here not to do/What you and I want to do/And go forever crazy with it/Why the hell are we even here?/Heeyaah!” The double meaning in the lines that open Gogol Bordello’s excellent latest release, Super Taranta! is as clear as the unconditional self-confidence the band flaunts: In life as well as in music, if you don’t have a purpose, you might as well go home. In the case of New York City’s Gogol Bordello, their purpose, according to exuberant front man Eugene Hütz, is to take over the world. Time will tell whether or not they accomplish this goal, but two things are for sure: they will have had a hell of a time trying, and during their journey, they got to hang with Madonna.
Ukrainian-born Chernobyl refugee and ex-Burlington transplant Hütz brings more than a gypsy mustache and a mullet to the music scene. He brings an urgent and contagious energy that is the signature of Gogol’s live shows, but which translates amazingly well in the studio. You couldn’t count the times he screams “Yeeaah!” and “Woooaah!” on the disc, but he lets them all fly with equal sincerity, emphasizing his beliefs on topics ranging from religion, on the straightforward stomp “I Don’t Read the Bible,” to the gypsy lifestyle, on the frantic “Wonderlost King,” to struggles associated with love, on the tender ballad “Alcohol.”
The formula to their inimitable sound is simple. Borrow the basic structure and chords of traditional Ukrainian folk music, change the rhythm a little, leave the accordion and fiddle right up front, blend in the standard rock trio of guitar, bass and drums, and add a couple of female cheerleaders for good measure. Plug it all in, and you have Gypsy Punk, a perfect dichotomy between Eastern and Western music that is catchy yet refreshingly diverse and appealing to fans of multiple genres, from Ska to Reggae to Metal.
There are no weak moments or album fillers on the disc, and the energy never lets up, but towards the end of Super Taranta!, some listeners may feel as though they’ve broken into a bottle of good Russian vodka, and perhaps should have taken a few less shots. Others, however, will want to keep on indulging, tear their shirts off, and scream “Heeyaah!” and “Wooaah!” until they’ve conquered the world.
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