ethnic superiority - luther
"Happy birthday to me" I would slur at you through my hungover daze if you were sitting here at the computer next to me. I had a great psudo-surprise party last night that included way too much patrone, some remarkable BBQ, and an asshole video DJ called Zoo. So, yeah, I also got this awesome figure:
I think I'll give it a Party Ends paint job, so keep an eye out for that, cause I'll totally post it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, I know some people have been talking about the Golem band and their album "Fresh off Boat", and I keep hearing all sorts of stuff. "They're terrible", "they're incredible", "they're a big rip-off", "they're totally original in every way", lots of stuff, and nothing particularly definitive. So I'm here to tell you that you will definitely, absolutely, in every way, maybe like them.
There are a lot of people who will not like this. I don't blame them, it's not all that accessible to listeners who are looking for certain elements in their music, i.e. people who need to understand the lyrics, etc; but that does not mean it isn't a really good album. A good portion of the album (most of it, in fact) is not in English. The music is populated with wierd gypsy instruments, skin-stretched drums, and some remarkable accordion playing, and the vocal talent is accompanied by some fun and varied guests. It's something that has to be sat with to really be appreciated, but in the end, if your serious about music, you can probably find something that you will really like, and that will keep you coming back.
The energy of this album is where it's at. The songs soar and bounce their way through anthemic, balladesque folk tunes and marching raucous dance numbers. It's a fun record, with no air of the pretension that just oozes from most other such artists like Devendra Banhart or even some of the Gogol Bordello songs (both of whom this will be compared to). The band actually features members of Gogol Bordello. Those guests I mentioned earlier are Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls, Lenny Kaye of the Patti Smith Group, and Mike Gordon of Phish, and to top it off the album was produced by Emery Dobyns, a true artist in this type of sound. Giving a drunken New York slur to Yiddish, Germanic, and Slavic folk music, the sound is authentic, but different. The songs are catchy and definitely danceable, even though sometimes it would have to decay into random flailing as some of the songs twist into blithering spreads. Influences are pretty clean cut, and, yes, there is "punk" in there, though I am sick to death of the term Folk-Punk, or anything-punk, but it is a worthwhile adjective for this music. From the moody Amalie accordion solo opening to the big top close, this is a record for many people, but not everyone. Try it, and I think you'll like it.
Check out a clip for this cool video for Warsaw is Khelm, featuring Amanda Palmer: 