I was never a massive fan of Gogol Bordello; too much of the “we’re mad gypsy punks” vibe going on, which always generated more heat than light (possibly what the fans like, though).
This latest is much better, and keeps the ramshackle sound while also being tighter and more disciplined. The fact that I get a review copy possibly means that bigger things are expected.
The title track opens, “We Mean It, Man!” being the sound I was expecting, fast, punky, Eastern strings, singer Eugene Hütz giving it his all, everything but the kitchen sink thrown into the production. A meandering sax solo is good, though.
“Life is Possible” is a cleaner song, dialling things back from 11 to about eight for a song The Levellers would be pleased with. Hütz is a Ukrainian New Yorker and Putin’s aggression seems to resonate across the album; this song is about carrying on after disaster, “Yet you shake off your coattails / And you tilt the holy grail”.
Track three “No Time for Idiots” is a standout track, opening lyric: “You might be Socrates / Or you might be Confucius / But don’t forget about a moron / Always lurking in the bushes,” the guitar riff nicked from Killers songbook. A great song. “What’s the secret ingredient? Idiot resilience” being a motto for life in general. The later “Mystics”, with its synth and guitars, is also a bit Killers.
“Boiling Point” is another standout, the band chilling down to acoustic guitar, with a singalong lyric and some very nice guitar.
“From Boyarka to Boyaca” opens with reggae (reminiscent of the “Cops” theme, “Bad Boys” by Inner Circle). Victoria Espinoza takes vocal duties; Boyarka is apparently Hütz’s hometown and Boyacá Espinoza’s home region. From reggae it melds into rock with not one but two fiery guitar solos; it’s a bit Mescaleros-era Joe Strummer.
Side two plays out a little bit Gogol-by-numbers, though “Mystics” does not warrant that and neither does the rousing “We Did Good with the Good We Did”.
Closer “Solidarity” is an epic, New Order’s Bernard Sumner sharing the vocals in a defiant f-you to Putin: “As the people of Ukraine fight to take their stands / And behind them every honest willing man / In unity there is each other and your friend becomes your brother /
And tyrant will never have its way.”
This last was written (to my surprise) by Raymond Cowie and Thomas Mensforth of punk band Angelic Upstarts, tweaked to be Ukraine rather than the original Poland.
A solid album, with some real highlights. See gogolbordello.bandcamp.com
JMC
