Search - Gogol Bordello :: Trans-Continental Hustle

What's missing, my companjera?

gonzobrarian | 04/27/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's hard to continually raise the bar on a genre that you create for yourself and yet still remain fresh or creative. That said, there's something missing on Trans-Continental Hustle that was so eye-opening on Gogol Bordello`s Gypsy Punks, so explosive on Super Taranta! that it's hard to pinpoint. The energy is here, Hutz is still Hutz, the pace is frenetically balanced between traditional punk, gypsy, and Carnaval atmosphere, with the immigrant-centric worldliness still representing the core of the band. And despite the difficult task of incorporating a more discernible Latin sound tied to punk, there's still something missing.



Many have noted the now infamous photo of the band wearing matching garb promoting the release of the TCH, a ominous sign of something completely antithetical to the core of GB and punk itself, a band comprised of wildly diverse elements too unrestrained to be coerced into uniformity. It could point to the more polished nature of the album as a whole. For since this album is under the purview of mega-producer Rick Rubin, I suspect that GB's talents, and perhaps its greatest asset, raw unpredictability, may be sacrificed for family-friendly airplay. Take the songs Uma Memina, Last One Goes The Hope, Rebellious Love and To Rise Above, for example. The backup singers sound distinctly bored with their restrained wailing. Gone is the occasional though necessary explicit lyric, and less predominant is the evocative gypsy violin from Sergey Ryabtsev in favor of the strumming of acoustic guitar.



That's not to say there are unworthy tracks here. Rebellious Love, My Companjera, In the Meantime in Pernambuco, and the epically momentum building When Universes Collide are all worthy of addition to the elite GB songs. GB's songwriting has always been intelligent, fun and belligerent, and it doesn't deviate much on TCH. In fact, the lyrics are probably as tight as they have been on previous albums; the fever to which they're musically set simply isn't as wild or spontaneous.



For the handful of standouts in this album, for me it doesn't match the intensity of Super Taranta! and Gypsy Punks. I don't blame the band for going in a more polished direction; it was bound to happen that someone influential with the promise of a big payday would try to latch onto GB. I'm thankful that it didn't detract too much from Trans-Continental Hustle, and that it happened after two supremely powerful releases. Trans-Continental Hustle is a fine, if perhaps too well-produced album that while not as overwhelmingly definitive, continues Gogol Bordello's recognition in the realm of worldly punk."

A Band that Matters

Prof C | Palatine, IL United States | 04/30/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"TCH is a brilliant synthesis of what, at first, appear to be contradictions. GB is a punk band, but the instrumentation is often acoustic. They are a fiercely political band, but lyrics sometimes explore the interpersonal rather the sociopolitical. They're from Eastern Europe, but one hears rhythms from South America.

The contradictions are superficial. The album is deeply rooted. The bands's heart, head, and spirit are right where they've always been: revolution punk.

You might question this on occasion during tracks 1-4, which sometimes display an unexpected delicacy (esp. "Sun on my Side."). But then, like mindreaders, GB address your concerns with "Imigraniada (We Comin' Rougher)," a ferocious declaration-of-purpose. The following track, "When Universes Collide," is like the Clash's White Riot in reverse: These are people who *have* a riot of their own, and dare you to join it. "Break the Spell," a compelling call to action, affirms the band's punk roots; the track ends with a subtle tribute to the Sex Pistols. (In case you missed the reference, Percussionist/MC Pedro Erazo wears a Never Mind the Bollocks shirt in liner photos.) When, "just because [he] came from Roma camp on the hill." Eugune Hutz is "put . . . in a school for mentally ill," you know there's a problem, and the problem is not the immigrant punks. The problem, society, is you. The fact that Mr. Hutz's guitar is acoustic makes the lesson no less powerful.

"

Hot Stuff!

Eddie Wannabee | Western Hemisphere | 05/10/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ever since I first heard this band on the Henry Rollins show I was hooked. On a world where most music is a repetitive approach, so many out there playing but so very few that are truly hot, these people are a much needed breath of fresh air. Their particular style, the blend of cultures one hears and their frenetic but controlled approach to their sound. Accordions, fiddles violins?, guitars, bass and a group of talented musicians driven by a different drummer. Come to find out that this singer is truly a man of the world, living in Brazil nowadays. He is music personified and yes, I can see him playing by himself with an acoustic guitar anywhere, anytime. This is truly a music troubadour with eastern europe foremost on his makeup. Those gypsies over there are serious business! Their code of living is not your 9-5 got get promoted type mentality. They roam, they suck the marrow of life because they are genetically disposed to travel and they sure value music and dance. This is not your Pink Floyd, immersing the listener on themes of alienation and systematic pulses where the listener, hopefully blissfully high at the moment, listens to Money, Us and Them, letting their music, played to perfection, transport one completely into an extension of their sound. I do not know why I bring Pink Floyd into the picture because they are and have always been at the top of their game when it comes to sheer entertainment. No, Gogol Bordello is never the norm of what the Billboard reflects on their ritualistic tabulations of who is number one (Justin Bieber?) and who is down the line. Gogol Bordello don't play for the accolades that Billboard promotes, they are probably more from the streets than from the glamour of TV guide and American Idol. This you can call underground music, fiercely melodic, world savvy and a lead man with a flare. Great album, it appears their evolution as a group has only got them tighter. I am not sophisticated enough to be able to pinpoint the influence that Paul Rubin (famous producer or something?) has had in the band or if this new management has detoured them from their suspected path. All I know is that I was feeling frisky, cold beer happy surrounded by the craziest but coolest company, a nice desire to party on and when this whole album came out of the above average speakers at a very nice volume (there are times when you just have to crank the volume up!) it had enough of what was needed. This is not fake music and Mr. Eugene Hutz? (I am a wreck at last names!) is a rare find. I give them 5 Stars for their kind of music incites something on me that is sorely required. To me they are a band of gypsies doing what they do best and more people should take the time to give them a listen. They are something else, Hot Stuff, way past the boring zone."