It's been five years since gypsy punk heroes
Gogol Bordello released
Seekers and Finders, their last studio album. In the interim, the world has endured natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic that killed millions, the U.S. Army's departure from Afghanistan, and the Russian invasion and continued occupation of Ukraine -- homeland of the band's singer, songwriter, and frontman
Eugene Huetz. Though the 13 songs on
Solidaritine were composed before the invasion,
Gogol Bordello offer a poignant, raucous response through them. The set was produced by Lower East Side underground icon
Walter Schreifels.
Huetz and Russian violinist
Sergey Ryabtsev -- the group's only original members -- are appended by Ecuadorian vocalist/percussionist
Pedro Erazo-Segovia, Russian-born guitarist
Boris Pelekh, French bassist
Gill Alexandre, and North American vocalist
Ashley Tobias and drummer
Korey Kingston Horn. (The record hosts several guests too.)
Although there are many different folk styles here, all are given utterance through punk and post-punk. Opener "Shot of Solidaritine" commences as a singalong but quickly erupts into an explosive punk anthem celebrating the collective strength of humanity with chanted choruses, blazing guitars, and galloping snares.
Huetz's snarling growl is framed by sweeping violin.
Fugazi's "Blueprint" is re-envisioned as a loose, ska-inflected tune that channels
the Pogues while staggering dangerously close to polka. "The Era of the End of Eras" offers a shambolic meld of acoustic and electric guitars, furious violin, and drums in a duet by
Huetz and
Bad Brains' frontman
H.R. The clattering punk shuffle/gutter Americana in "I'm Coming Out" is an indictment of social media, "zombie lifestyle magazines," and the politicization of everyday life. "The Great Hunt of Idiot Savant" weds drunken garage punk and blasting Romani dance music in celebrating love's possibilities. "Take Only What You Can Carry" is the set's highlight. Though not written directly in response to the Ukrainian conflict,
Huetz and
Tobias deliver an anthemic duet offering emotional support to those displaced by war, famine, natural disaster, etc. amid careening violin, power chords, detuned piano, and crashing drums. The reprised version of "Forces of Victory" (originally on 2007's
Super Taranta! album) was included in direct response to the invasion of Ukraine. Following fleet guitar arpeggios in the intro,
Ryabtsev's violin leads the band into a maelstrom of hardcore punk. With assistance from Ukrainian poet and novelist
Serhiy Zhadan and electro-folk band
KAZKA,
Huetz recalls historic victories over fascist dictatorships. "Fire on Ice Floe" combines surf and spiky reggae, while closer "Huckleberry Generation" melds garage rock, screaming punk, and gypsy melody with American literary myth, the tragedy of Chernobyl, and the undying spirit of revolt among the working class and dispossessed. While not quite as intense and transformative as a
Gogol Bordello live show,
Solidaritine is close. Its canny songwriting and sophisticated musicianship combined with
Schreifels' raw production make this album one of the band's finest to date. ~ Thom Jurek
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