Gogol Bordello “Seekers and Finders”
Everybody’s favourite gypsy punks are back with their 7th studio album. “Seekers and Finders” due out on 25th August, via the Cooking Vinyl label.
Gogol Bordello have always been a multi-cultural band with Ukraine’s Eugene Hutz as their ring leader. The current line-up consists of members from the USA, Russia, Ethiopia, Ecuador and Belarus.
Writing the album saw Eugene jumping across 3 different continents, bouncing between Latin America and Eastern Europe. It was when he returned to the groups spiritual home of New York that the songs finally came together as intended.
Starting off with “Did it All” and “Walking on the Burning Coal” the violins and horns have Gogol Bordello sounding huge, just as you’d expect from the 9-piece band. The latter is all about when the horns kick in, adding more to the Gogol Bordello sound than the usual accordion and fiddle playing.
There are a few surprises on the album, in particular when it comes to the album’s title track, “Seekers and Finders”. Joining the band on vocals is fellow Eastern European Regina Spektor. Described as a “duet of the wondering Jew and the roaming Gypsy”, it’s probably my favourite track on the album. Proper old fashioned boy meets girls vocals trading off each other, there’s also something about it that reminds me of “Ballad of Tom Jones” by Space (feat.Cery’s Matthews).
Things then take a bit of a dive, ultimately too many slow numbers from a band who you want to produce more Gogol Bordello classics like “Start Wearing Purple”. This does however sound like an album of maturity, after all they’ve been around a while now and seen the world.
Lead single “Saboteur Blues” picks things up again, more in keeping with what you’d expect. It may be a little more polished but it still has that rockier edge.
The album bows out with the lovely “Still that Way”, a song that makes you sway from side to side. If it were live, you’d want to be locked arm in arm with friends, while raising a glass in the air. That’s where Gogol Bordello really hit the mark with “Seekers and Finders”. It may be a little more subdued than previous releases, but give the album time and it will soon be growing on you.
Gogol Bordello 2017
