REVIEW: Gypsy Punks

Prof. J Joins the Underdog World Strike

*Chance It'll Melt Your Face Off= 88%*

I like surprises. That sudden, unexpected shock followed, in most cases, by pure joy can not be topped. I like when you don’t see it coming, when you fall for that friend that you never thought was your type, when you try some new recipe and everything turns out fresh and sharp. I like musical surprises too, the unexpected change in tempo, the random choir in the background, a piano where no piano should be. It keeps me honest, I think, and it keeps me engaged. And sometimes, well, sometimes it knocks me down.

Gogol Bordello is not just a band full of surprises; they are a surprise in and of themselves. Describing their sound is next to impossible and that is perhaps the greatest joy of their music. Still, I’ll give it a shot. Try this: mix equal parts funk, punk, reggae, soul, cabaret, and eastern European gypsy music, shake until well blended, throw in a dash of political fire, top with uncontained, manic energy and you’re getting somewhere close. Gogol Bordello makes music that drives you to your feet, forces you off of them, and then picks you back up again. This is summer music. This is music for now.

Their most recent album is Gypsy Punks:Underdog World Strike and the title tells you everything you need to know. This is an album that calls for revolution, a new way of looking at the world both on the political and emotional level. Gogol Bordello are not lazy enough to confine their message to one realm. Rather, the music and lyrics (a mix of English, Ukrainian and who knows what else) touch all elements of life, urging you forward, desiring you to look at things in a new way.

The songs are all over the place. “Think Locally, Fuck Globally” feels like a flamenco song on speed. “Immigrant Punk” is Clash reggae at its best, while “Not a Crime” is the revolutionary theme song Rage Against the Machine was trying to write for ten years. Want underground hip-hop? I give you “Underdog World Strike.” Need a big number to make you feel good about life and all its struggles? Try “Undestructable.” While the songs may run the gamut, what ties the album together is a fiery-breathing guitar. Think Pixies, think Plant, think Marc Ribot. There is heat in these guitar lines, and they light a fire under all the songs here.

It’s rare nowadays that music catches me off guard, hits me with a right hook when I was expecting a left. Sometimes I don’t like it and I promise never to drop my guard again. Sometimes, though, the punch feels so good and rather than knock the wind out of you, it gives you new breath, and the want, the need, to dance the afternoon away.

For a listen, go HERE.