A Fair Desire

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April 16, 2010
 

Album Preview: Trans-Continental Hustle by Gogol Bordello

Artist: Gogol Bordello
Album: Trans-Continental Hustle
Year: 2010

It is odd how I find out about these new albums. I haven't even thought about Gogol Bordello in...probably six months. Then I find out today they not only have a new album coming out April 27th, but you can stream the whole thing right now from their MySpace page.

I first found out about Gogol Bordello from the movie Everything Is Illuminated, a strange, sad film in which Gogol Bordello's leading man Eugene Hütz played a main role alongside Elijah Wood. The band also contributed a few songs to the soundtrack. From there I found their album Gypsy Punks Underdog World Strike, which I really liked. (It didn't hurt that I was going through a klezmer phase around the same time, and they are some kind of distant cousins. Maybe.) I love the crazy gypsy sound and the energy behind the songs. You just know the band is going insane while they are playing. Of course, about 3/4ths of their lyrics are completely indecipherable to me, but I enjoy it anyway.

So, I was pretty excited when Super Taranta! came out. Then I became disappointed. Something was missing from that album. I certainly wanted to like it, but I just didn't. I think it was melodically limper than Underdog World Strike and the songs tended to blend together. I guess I felt they might have rushed it just a little bit. That is why I have ignored them for a while. Therefore, it was with some trepidation that I queued up Trans-Continental Hustle. Fortunately, the first 30 seconds of Pala Tute put my worries to rest. I think they have returned to the form that I liked in Underdog World Strike. The songs are melodic and dynamic, with clear narratives and good energy. The production also has a lot of clarity, which may have been missing on Super Taranta!

The new element in this album is the Latin feel to several of the songs. Not something I would have thought to put together with Gypsy punk, but they have made it work really well.

Overall, an album I'll be listening to quite a bit.

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February 13, 2010
 

Fair - Walking in My Sleep Video

Here's a video of Fair playing "Walking in My Sleep" from their new album Disappearing World.

Buy this song

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January 26, 2010
 

Album Review - The Infinite Order by Living Sacrifice

Album: The Infinite Order
Artist: Living Sacrifice
Released: 2010
Genre: Metal

With this long-awaited new album, Living Sacrifice continues the mayhem they started with The Hammering Process and Conceived in Fire. The time off has apparently only made them stronger. Ridiculously tight, driving percussion and precision guitar work make every song impressive. There is absolutely nothing disappointing about this album.


If you are unfamiliar with them, Living Sacrifice is a Christian metal band with a long history. Their first albums were a sludgy mix of thrash and death metal, but then they turned to a more percussive, rhythmic sound with The Hammering Process and Conceived in Fire. Then they announced in 2003 that they were done with making albums, which pretty much bummed everyone out. Most of the members of Living Sacrifice have been involved in other bands, such as P.O.D., Evanescence, and Soul Embraced. In 2008, the band got back together for a tour with Demon Hunter, announcing they would also be working on a new album. This pretty much made everyone happy again.

Every song on The Infinite Order is worth listening to. Most feature Bruce Fitzhugh's growling vocals, although there is a bit of nice, clean singing thrown in on a couple tracks. The guitars are thick and complex, just what you would expect from Living Sacrifice. I appreciated the extra percussion on several of the songs, like "Nietzsche's Madness", which are reminiscent of "Bloodwork" from The Hammering Process.

I think this is a great album to kick off 2010.

By the way, the price on Amazon right now is $12.99, and it is $10 if you buy it directly from Solid State. However, the shipping from Solid State is $4.39 for me. Depending on your shipping options, Amazon might be cheaper, so take a look at both if you are going to buy online.

 

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A Fair Desire