Reviews

Gogol Bordello

Underdog World Strike

Digg this review.
Add to del.ico.us.

Review Date: 2005-10-25

Russian gyspy polka punk is what we will be discussing today. Anyone still listening? Hopefully at least a few of you decided to hear me out, because it will be worth it. See whereas many people would hear of this seemingly ludicrous combination of styles and be deterred for me it was the main reason that I ended up hearing Gogol Bordello. I absolutely had to know what this was going to sound like. And you know what it sounds like? Exactly what you would expect from Russian gypsy polka punk.

Basically, the sound is that of a drunken bar riot mixed in with accordions, shouting, and spliced with reggae and dub influences throughout. The entire thing sounds like it was recorded with the lead singer so drunk he could hardly stand on his own two feet. He shouts and slurs his words with intensity but never clarity and this is a good thing. Seeing this live must be a total trip, and maybe a dangerous one. Polka on its own is more or less intrinsically lame, but the accordion is not. Pumping up the accordion and setting it against high energy punk music is actually very clever. Much like Yellowcard and their fiddle was a good gimmick except this is a) way better and b) less financially motivated.

Are they actually gypsies? That is a damn fine question. I would hesitate to guess that they are in fact no actual gypsies but going to their website would not tell you the answer. Actually, going to the website would lead you to believe they are gypies but so would any good gimmick. Whether they are or they aren't they act like they are. They recently signed to Side One Dummy records and that could mean they will get more exposure. This is the same label Bedouin Soundclash recently signed with. So who would I recommend this too? Well, I thought Brandon but he doesn't like it all that much. The two people I have found who like it were girls who aren't even necessarily exclusively punk rockers. If you like innovative, high energy music, and enjoy combining genres and can handle a thick Russian accent singing polka punk then yeah I recommend it. But you are never going to hear anything else like it so even if it sounds weird I say give it a taste.

Brandon would be proud of Gogol Bordello for adhering to his policy of opening the album up with authority. "Sally" might be the purest, most highly energized true punk song on the album. Starting with some gibberish, and then some awesome two part violin playing off of one another the song doesn't take long to suck you in. The violin actually is used even more than the accordion on the album but it is done so much differently than the Yellowcard. The violin has a kinda possessed manic dance/mosh vibe on Gogol's songs. Their is also a version of this song kicking around with the Dropkick Murphies on it as well. But I haven't found it yet. You can't really call this singing so much as he is shouting, grunting out the words and I love every second of it. I don't know why I like it so much but I can't get enough of it.

Next up "Immigrant Punk". The chorus is so simple just going"immigrant, immigrant, immigrant punk" and then repeating it again. Maybe it isn't even the chorus because it is done throughout the song so much but whatever you want to call it I call it awesome. His voice actually reminds me a lot of Joe Strummer except with a thick Balkan accent. This song uses the accordion as the main instrument. What is really unique is that the guitar is basically an afterthought on the entire album. Instead they choose to fill spots where you would expect a guitar with accordion, violin, drums, and various other substitute instruments. Show me a band that thinks outside the box and odds are you've shown me a band I like. Now that bloody chorus is back in my head. Gogl has a way to do this to you.

My virgin experience with Gogol Bordello was the track "Start Wearing Purple". Any limewire search for this band is going to result in tons of hits for this song because it was featured on the most recent Vans Warped Tour compilation. Obviously I liked it enough to download the entire album. This track is more of a slowburn. With the creepy, haunted sounding accordion set against some soft bass with the vocals being at first sung rather quitely. Each verse they pick up a little bit but not to the point of shouting at all, but don't worry it is coming. The best way to describe this is it sounds like a drunken polka campfire song. With the repetitive, sing-along style lyrics. I'm sure the fans get a kick out of this whenever they do it live.

Opening up with what is basically a reggae opening, "Not A Crime" again shows Gogol Bordello has a lot more range than I would have ever thought to give them credit for. Check the violin on this track because the intense violin opening is as notable as any guitar solo on most punk albums. I am sitting here in my chair basically doing the equivalent of a one man sitting mosh and yeah it probably looks pretty fucking ridiculous. Hearing a band of this style utilizing obvious reggae influences is impossible to explain you have to hear it for yourself. Polka, punk, and reggae spliced together should not work but it does. I would say the high energy songs like this are more likely to be accessible to the casual punk fan so this would be advised listening if you only want to try a track or two. I can hear the Clash here, and through the Clash I can hear Bob Marley very easily. Can you?

I saved the best for last though. The title track "Under The World Strike" currently has actually taken over "Immigrant Punk" as the fav. The first thirty seconds is just a violin and accordion playing off one another before they even get to the vocals, well other than what amounts to grunts. These guys play Conan at the end of November and I have to remember to see it. I must know what they look like live. This song is very sparse in comparison to the others. It amounts basically to an acoustic track without actual really acoustic guitars instead its just one instrument either an accordion or violin accompanying the vocals at any given time. Hearing a violin in as isolated a setting as I do on this track makes me realize what an unbelievable instrument it is when used in new ways like this.

Front-to-back the songs aren't all as consistently excellent as the ones mentioned above but they aren't all that far away either. I always listen to the album straight through and unlike most punk albums Gogol Bordello serves you up over an hour's worth of music. Considering what you are likely to pay for it that is a good thing. This album has given me a new found appreciation of the violin, and accordion. I will eventually be buying this I have no doubt. Because when I feel like polka punk what the hell else am I going to listen too?

Tracks to download: "Sally", "Never Young", "Not A Crime", "Immigrant Punk", "Avenue B", "Start Wearing Purple", "Under The World Strike"

Score: 8.5

This album is a bit more fun than it is groundbreaking which explains the score. Hands down, the best "punk" album i've heard in 2005.

- Dan