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Gypsy rockers extraordinaire Gogol Bordello moved to South America in search of inspiration. What emerged is the group’s latest and 5th studio release Trans-Continental Hustle. As hard as it is to capture the pure unadulterated mad essence of a GB live show, this release comes as close as you can get. It’s angry and loud and more than anything excites me for a hopeful reprise at ACL this October. This is festival friendly music and after blowing me away on the great lawn in 2008, I hope they return with the raw energy of their live show and the addition of wonderful South American accents in full swing. Indeed, they come back stateside with 2 additional members; Pedro Erazo, an Ecuadorian percussionist and Thomas Gobena, an Ethiopian bassist. As Gogol Bordello plays havoc on my spell-checker, the music pummels my speakers. There’s no other way to enjoy it; the louder the better.
Undeniably, they prove this right off the bat with the opening track ‘Pala Tute’. It is vintage, blasting accordion and violin along with the ever present howling vocals of Eugene Hütz. Next, “Immigraniada” is a raucous ode to the immigrant lifestyle and I can’t think of any band that convincingly covers the topic better. The listener doesn’t even have to make it half-way through the release to realize what kind of trip the band is taking them on. There’s no secret to their success. It’s just full-frontal, unmitigated, sweaty authority. There is no better dance number on the release than “Uma Menina Uma Cigana”; where Erazo’s Latin percussion influence shines through Hütz’s raspy vocals. The resulting vocal track is as angry as ever, but the music shows some subtlety, which was obviously something they sought after when moving to Brazil.
As much as I tried to stay focused on writing, I couldn’t contain myself and had to dance like a mad-man during “In the Meantime in Pernambuco”. The group has concocted a recipe for exhilaration and while listening there is no way out from under the control of their spell. This segueing nicely into “Break the Spell” with a different nearly hip-hop-esque rhythm in some spots, though they never stray too far from the up-tempo Gypsy punk they know so well. The title track, “Trans-Continental Hustle” finishes off the record with a Hütz guitar/vocal solo before the band thrashes into more vintage gypsy punk.
Following up 2007’s Super Taranta! was no doubt a difficult task for the group and a tricky situation. If they continued the route they took, they run the risk of falling into a monotonous trap. On the flip side, they could not stray too far from what has gained them so many fans in the first place. Luckily for us, the group varies their sound just enough to keep it fresh and interesting. Followed by no-doubt extensive touring, Gogol Bordello should pick up many more fans with Trans-Continental Hustle. C3, bring them to Austin!
I know I know, we just can’t seem to shut up about Surfer Blood can we? That should just tell you to pick up their debut album Astrocoast before we kick you in the face! So the now overly hyped band just recorded and posted a sweet new live session on the HearYa website. This session is super sweet because you can download MP3s of all songs separately or in one big zip file. Live videos of “Take it Easy” & “Swim” are also included. Seriously, check this band out now.
