- Dungen: Panda
- Cursive: Dorothy At Forty
- My Bloody Valentine: Only Shallow
- The Kinks: Big Sky
- Beat Circus: The February Train
Slavic Soul Party! - Taketron
Submitted by petera on Sun, 11/01/2009 - 15:37.
Slavic Soul Party!
Taketron
1 (just an 8 second intro)
(no order, play any) 2, 10, 4, 6, 8, 11
Electronic
(Barbes Records)
On their fifth effort, this sizeable ensemble from Brooklyn takes traditional
music from the Balkans and puts a jazz-funk spin on it. As you can probably guess
from the album art (including the awesome ‘Brassbird’ on the actual CD), the core
of this group is the horns. Pretty much every brass instrument under the sun shines
on the disc, with interesting percussion and even an accordion thrown in here
and there.
The modern sensibility of the group is most realized on the title track,
where the first horn notes actually sound like a synthesizer before the higher
pitched trumpets kick in. Meanwhile “Pavketov Stakato” and “Sarba” sound
more culturally rooted in the Slavic musical tradition. Possibly the album’s finest
note however is the gospel evoking “Canaan Land.” It starts off with as a slow,
somber whimper. Then halfway through comes some truly soulful harmonies,
and finally the drummer comes in, rolling off an up-tempo pattern (think “Shout!”
by the Isley Brothers) and ending on a lighthearted, triumphant note.
Bands that fuse the new and old aren’t always successful, but Slavic Soul
Party! hit just the right note on Taketron.
Standout: (no order, play any) 2, 10, 4, 6, 8, 11
DNP: 1 (just an 8 second intro)
(the album title is pronounced ta-ke-tron)
Reviewed by Spence. Oct. 11, 2009.
- Canaan Land
- Get It How You Live
- Hymn
- Sarba
- sviraj srecko
- Taketron