Top 10 Records of 2014

Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello- live at the Norva.

1. Gogol Bordello- Pura Vida Conspiracy: Gogol Bordello definitely puts on one hell of a show. After recently seeing them just this past July deliver a top-notch performance at the Norva in support of their latest album, "Pura Vida Conspiracy" it brought to my attention that with this album, the spirit of their live show was captured quite accurately.

The groups sixth album features both the expected and the unexpected. With songs like opener, "We Rise Again", "My Gypsy Auto Pilot", & "John the Conqueror (Truth Is Always the Same)"  they gave their audience what we know and love; perhaps more importantly they threw some curveballs our way too with songs like the catchy tempo-game-changer,"Dig Deep Enough" with its shimmering mandolins-- also sporting possibly one of the biggest choruses (of oh so many!) on the entire album-- as well as, "We Shall Sail" and it's hidden-track to follow the folk-fastcore infused, "Jealous Sister".

Pura Vida Conspiracy.

There are more crowd sing-alongs on the majority on this album than not; possibly more than any previous album at all-- with songs like, "Malandrino" (boasting those lovely horns), "Is It the Way You Name Your Ship", and "The Other Side Of Rainbow", and of course complete with it's soaring quality, gorgeous hand-percussion and instant-accessibility, "Lost Innocent World". Gogol Bordello delivers knock-out performances with each show, and with each album release they grow more and more--- and its both their relentless energetic shows and ability to evolve on each album that make us so eager for whatever it is they are doing next.

2. Night Birds- Born To Die In Suburbia: I reviewed this a while back after purchasing it for the mighty-turntable and listening to it obsessively. Quite simply an infectiously high-energy punk rock record with a sense of fun and memorability that most bands that try to tear it up this hard are severely lacking in. Worth every penny.

3. New Pornographers- Brill Bruisers: Perhaps a return to form for them, nevertheless this album is both everything you have come to expect and love from the New Pornographers. Somehow this many albums on (this is also album number six for them--- I guess it's a lucky number, go place your bets!) and they still managed to churn out this chest of indie-powerpop gems.

Brill Bruisers.

The album has an incredible range of seemingly ever-present hooks: the rise and fall effect in the title track, that brilliant sense of here-it-comes with, "War on the East Coast", and the shiny vocal harmonies of, "Another Drug Deal of the Heart".  As usual Neko Case has her wonderful lead vocal moments combined with the keyboard-driven stuttering of, "Champions of Red Wine" and again to a similar effect on, "Marching Orders".

Eastern Moon Rising.

Perhaps most notably, Dan Bejar might've  stolen the show with, "Born With A Sound" for the title of most-addictive-tune on the album. The New Pornographers never disappoint and never get dull, not even for a second.

4. Boris Kovac & La Campanella- Eastern Moon Rising: A beautiful release by an insanely talented multi-instrumentalist and composer along with his incredible band La Campanella featuring the textures of soothing saxophone, accordion, guitar, stand-up bass, and a full drum kit. Boris Kovac blends his native Serbian style with various other Balkan styles, as well as tango, and chamber music for a beautiful unique orchestral flavor from this impressive ensemble of instrumental virtuosos.

5. Thurston Moore- The Best Day: Yet another solo release by Sonic Youth's frontman, and its another excellent one. Despite the fact that its sad to see a phenomenal band like Sonic Youth go there separate ways, there is a bright side to this:  the solo projects and all the new side projects of each member that arise from it-- and not just Thurston's solo album, but also his Chelsea Light Moving project--- as well as Kim Gordon's Body/Head project, and Lee Rinaldo & the Dust's recent, "Last Night On Earth" to name a few.

The Best Day.

With this particular album, unlike it's predecessor, "Demolished Thoughts" with its intricately finger-picked acoustic guitar, lush orchestral swelling, and sprinkles of harp throughout its chamberpop-like approach--- "The Best Day" is both a somewhat surprising and yet also comfortable return to the characteristics of Sonic Youth (only to an extent though).

The album begins with the brilliant, "Speak To The Wild" and it's trance inducing quality casts a shade on the whole album as the song fades into, "Forevermore" with its chiming upbeat pulse and shimmering haunting guitar hiss, as it elevates into the chugging opening riff and its layers continue to build; stacking higher and higher until Thurston finally declares, "That's why I want you forevermore" making this possibly the best eleven minutes to suddenly have gone by you've ever heard.

The pitter-pattering of, "Tape" as it hums into its jingling guitars continues the album forward as it gradually rises and falls into the title track. "The Best Day" flares its rock'n roll nostrils with a gritty riff and its lyrical tale, with even a pinch of cowboy lurking in those riffs somewhere, before bursting into a spastic aggressive bluesy solo and returning to a calm after the storm.

"Detonation" gasps before launching off into what feels like the most familiar of Sonic-Youth territory on this album yet, with its slight dissonance and churning rhythmic force coupled with the songs anxiety. Guitar birds chirp on, "Vocabularies" as Thurston's day continues into the shoegaze-ish, "Grace Lake" before finally fading into the closer, "Germs Burn".

Thurston Moore didn't simply front an amazing band called Sonic Youth. He didn't simply write a string of solo albums, some of which are similar (and some not) to Sonic Youth's material. He consistently finds a way to dig into his craft and maintain the stance of a recognizable artist within his own framework and simultaneously make great albums that stay fresh and don't simply recycle old ideas; he walks the very fine line of constant expansion versus staying inside his own box. 

Man Man live at the Norva.

6.  Man Man- On Oni Pond: After having the pleasure of watching Man Man open up for Gogol Bordello at the same show mentioned above. Gogol Bordello can't be an easy band to open for, and despite Man Man being such a different band-- I don't know if anyone else could've pulled it off better that night.

Man Man showcases a sound wild enough that putting this beast in a cage was probably just the right way to package this album (the songs on this album came across so much more in-your-face live--it's not that the band doesn't translate well on record though-- it's really more of just that their frontman Honus Honus seems larger than life onstage).

The group has an expansive sound complete with propulsive guitar, keyboard/synths galore, thumping bass, a variety of horns, a full drum kit and additional hand percussion plus mallet percussion/marimba too. On Oni Pond is a record full of variety possessing a groove and danceable charm, dashes of folk, and an overwhelmingly sense of style that reveals its layers more with each spin.

Pale Communion.

7. Opeth- Pale Communion: Another interesting chapter in the gradual evolution of Opeth's style. It's been of note in any article, interview, publication, etc. that with its predecessor, "Heritage" they took on a more prog-rock stance; however, to be fair they've always possessed elements of both, and if anything they simply added more weight to the prog-rock side of the scale with that album (as well as this one), but elements of metal and their older material can still be found here as well.

The music itself is an impressive landscape as always: crisp clean vocals, dramatic organ textures, gliding guitar solos, complex song structures, intriguing time changes, some of the most killer drumming of our time--- parts of this are practically jazz, but still under the umbrella of metal. Any fan of Opeth shouldn't be disappointed with the incredibly skilled performances taking place here-- some bands could spend lifetimes longer in the rehearsal room and still not achieve a sound this equally precise, heavy, and expansive. The only bummer about any Opeth album being released is simply the fact that it'll be at least a couple years before another one comes out; but on the bright side, you'll be so entertained, by their latest album, and that with repeated listens more and more details of the album reveal itself-- you won't mind the wait a bit.

Kaffepunch.

8. Habadekuk- Kaffepunch: This Danish group have added one hell of a notch to their belt with this release with their latest album, "Kaffepunch" winning the Danish Music Awards, "Folk Album of the Year" as well as the, "Tradition of the Year 2014" proving this band has no fear of a sophomore slump.

The machine of this album is built of many different stylistic bits and pieces: its full of celtic flare, hopping polka beats, and even sprinkled with jazz and swing-- reviving some old Danish folk tunes along the way. The album portrays instrumental virtuosos performing anything from jazz to polka to salsa and beyond with plenty of jigs, reels, and polka to spare; soaring horn work, bouncing piano, melodic accordion, flashy fiddle-work, topped off with a full drum kit for a huge colorful sound.

9. Sharon Van Etten- Are We There: With the fourth album in, Sharon Van Etten has really hit it out the park with this one. Her voice is bursting to its full potential, flaunting her soothing tonality and soulful range. The album displays the strength of her craftsmanship alone, with every song perfectly shifting into another; textured with the gliding piano accompaniment, the gentle strumming guitars, the breezy woodwinds, and soft glittering organ.

Are We There

The album is a gorgeous mist of one sappy tale after the other-- its so incredibly bare, and it seems that its all wonderfully held together by a single thread: Etten's voice.  She doesn't hide behind anything, her voice just floats along the top and she just scoops it up along the way; planting little treasures in the daze of this brilliant album from start to finish. Something so sad sounding seldom manages to be so sincere and yet make you so happy all at once.


10. At the Gates- At War With Reality: I have to admit, though I've always liked them, I had never followed At the Gates too closely either-- but they are both grabbing the attention of old and new fans across the board with their latest album, "At War With Reality". Through various interviews, especially a particular one that comes to mind with Decibel Magazine-- it seemed like a huge concern for both the band and their core audience was the fact that they were finally doing another album 19 years later after stating they would never do a new album, topped with the predicament of being caught in the shadow of their own, "Slaughter of the Soul".  The bands latest offering not only prevails, it exceeds expectations. True, "At War With Reality" is a grower, not a shower, or perhaps more accurately--- it's a grower at first, and then a shower.

At War With Reality.

The songs are somewhat complex and aren't necessarily an instantly accessible brand of metal, but the listen is more than just "rewarding after repeated listens"; it's a layered metal album, that with each listen reveals itself more, each scream grows in emotional intensity-- each riff stacks the chips higher, and the weight of the album grows. With that growth, every previous album served as a building block to achieve the massive effect  instilled on this album. The pulsating rhythm explodes, the tremolo picking guitars, the gliding across the strings on the shredding solos, and the sheer relentless energy of the group boils throughout the album better than ever before--- topped with the signature calling of pure adrenalin setting in with the trademark scream of Thomas "Tompa" Lindberg commanding this record full-speed ahead.

It's not, "good for a comeback album"-- it's simply a good metal album, period-- from guys who pioneered a unique subgenre of metal often imitated but never properly duplicated. This album is evidence of them having this reputation: no one could make an album like them and not be anything more than simply a copycat. "At War With Reality" shows they were hailed by those bands attempting to capture what they created with good reason, and that no one else could ever top them at their own game.

A GINORMOUS diamond in the rough.... from my vinyl vault: Gogol Bordello's, "Super Taranta!"

Gogol Bordello's Super Taranta!

This merry bunch of immigrant-punks have been knocking out their trademark sound of gypsy-punk since 1999 with their first album, Voi La Intruder. Gogol Bordello pulls from various forms of European folk music: Eastern European & Klezmer, Ukrainian, especially Balkan, and many others combined with intense heavy doses of various rock influences. A perfect pinch of each is put into mix, creating a glorious union of genres while creating a style that is truly their own.

Gogol Bordello has been building a steady fan-base along the way of constructing seven studio albums since Voi La Intruder. Though it was with their third album, Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike, that the bands momentum truly took off. During the earlier period of the social-media craze with Myspace, each month a new band with a single and/or video was posted that millions of users would see/hear before logging in. Gogol Bordello was once featured on the front sporting their promotional single, "Start Wearing Purple" for the album and garnered the band even more attention.

Building upon this momentum, their next and fourth album to follow was Super Taranta! After the initial statement was made with Voi La Intruder, then stylistically harnessed with Multi Kontra Culti Vs. Irony, and then they were full embraced with the success of Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike. By that third album, and by switching to from Rubric Records to a more mainstream label with SideOneDummy Records; the group hit a critical turning point, they've gained both the attention, but now also the support they need and became truly limitless as a band. SideOneDummy Records being a bigger label, had the necessary muscle to provide better distribution for the bands records and related methods of support. At this point the band had mastered their craft; this album in particular, is arguably a creative high-point for the band and the results produced are arguably their best album up until that point-- or perhaps even yet!

Gatefold design containing two LP's.

The record is packaged brightly with a nice green background while portraying the band with nice cut-outs from live performances. What lies inside after you unfold the the stylish gatefold style cover, is an even more thrilling album properly dished out over the course of two LP's.

Things kick off rather bold with, "Ultimate" and then into a highly singable crowd-pleaser with, "Wonderlust King". Don't be fooled though, Gogol Bordello isn't a band that cares about playing it safe, things get to a wild chugging beat on, "Zina-Marina" and then explode with a brass-heavy chorus guest-starring Slavic Soul Party. Yuri Lemeshev then charms us his catchy and skillful accordion introduction on, "Supertheory Of Supereverything" with the energy constantly climbing before fading and wrapping side A of the first record.

The hard-hitting, "Harem In Tuscany (Taranta)" is ans infectious energetic tune, rich with melody and flaunting the bands instrumental showmanship; complete with an undeniably catchy chorus. The song gallops to an incredible climax and drop us out with an exciting transition into that irresistible chorus just once more before cooling things off just a tad with, "Dub The Frequencies of Love". The tempo keeps chugging along with the introduction of, "My Strange Uncles From Abroad" and possesses a dramatic fiddle line by the one and only Sergey Ryabtsev. Approaching end to the second side, Yuri belts out a fantastic and uplifting solo; followed by another solo by Sergey, and another chorus that has you shouting along in no time. As the first record comes to a close, the intensity has hinted the party has only just begun!

Back side & label.

 The second record jams out a fun shouting sing-along, "Tribal Connection" with just enough pace to keep things upbeat without losing any variety. Thomas "Tommy T" Gobena's bass line gives the song an incredible groove, and Yuri's reverb-drenched accordion provides a wonderful sense of atmosphere to the tune. Now that the band has given you a nice change of pace, they take you by storm with the thrashing speed of, "Forces of Victory". The flaring melodies jammed into the tight spaces of such a fast-paced song on this number is truly impressive. At the same time, you don't get the sense that they are simply trying to cram notes in or simply show off; it's a well written song full of melodic intensity-- the fact that they are showing off is merely coincidental. This song serves a great sense of purpose to the record in terms of tempo variations for side A of the second LP. They begin to wrap up side A of the second record with a calmer tone in, "Alcohol" ; and then conclude this side with "Suddenly... (I Miss Carpaty)" a high-voltage tune, where the band continually starts and stops on a dime.

The final side of the second record starts to spin with, "Your Country" is a neat song full of variety in changes, even featuring a neat synthesizer moment in the mid-section; this song really surprises you at every turn; it's kind of weird even, but incredibly fun and makes its mark as a unique number on the album. "American Wedding" sees the band launch into another gypsy-punk party, complete with another undeniably catchy chorus, and once again backed by the fantastic brass work of Slavic Soul Party.  The final closing song of the album, "Super Taranta!" features a brief return to the melody introduction from, "Supertheory of Supereverything" before launching into a world of its own full of rolling tribal-like percussion, and a highly danceable Balkan-like melody. The melody continues to build momentum, and the percussion continues to rumble with intensity layered by delayed guitar; the fiddle scrubbing away at the melody more, before rebuilding that intensity back up again. Finally exploding into a full blast of punk fury and dramatically ringing out, and then yet again fooling us and building us up yet once more; with those Balkan melodies still jittering above the surface before finally letting go.

For a band that single-handedly coined the term, "gypsy-punk"; who have mastered their unique fusion of these styles, and practically responsible for its creation altogether. Gogol Bordello really made an incredible album this go around, filled with rich melodies; ripe with hooks and strong choruses. It's an album that's loaded with fun, flare, and energy. It's put them on a fast-track to where they are today with the records that followed, "Trans-Continental Hustle" and most recently with, "Pura Vida Conspiracy" and proved them a force to be reckoned with.

Top 10 Best Experiences While Busking EVER……

Yuri Lemeshev of Gogol Bordello.

Top 10 Best Experiences While Busking EVER……

1. Why it just so happens I met my lovely lady Stephanie while busking! Best tip I ever got!

2. Meeting Gogol Bordello while busking outside the Norva. Before the show I did see Eugene Hutz- regrettably I admit I froze and other than saying, "Hey" I just froze. I know- I'm an idiot! Lol. Luckily I did not repeat this mistake all night. I met pretty much met the entire band- including- their accordionist Yuri Lemeshev! I actually met a good chunk of the band both before and after the show- while I was busking before the show he said to me, "Sounds good" and nodded- I was kind've afraid to say much at the time- I'd be lying if I said I wasn't totally starstruck.

Jason Webley!

After the show, I met Yuri again with Sergey Ryabtsev their violinist. Sergey is sooooo funny and cool- he's really full of personality- HE FREAKED OUT when I asked him to sign my CD of their first album,"Voi-La Intruder" (which for any of you remember that wonderful place while it was there- I picked up one day at Relative Theory Records! UGH! I miss that place!)- he was like, "Oh my God! I can't believe you have this!! We have to get Yuri in on this one! YURI!!!!!" I'm pretty sure what he meant was that because of the whole Mysapce craze at the time with their song, "Start Wearing Purple" (though that song is also on the first album- the version that mostly came into the public eye was the Underdog Worldstrike one) and their latest album at that time (my personal favorite so far to date!), "Super Taranta!"- so they were really excited and surprised to see someone asking them to sign the old one. Later the other band members signed my copy of Super Taranta- it's a memorable night I'll never forget- Gogol Bordello- along with Korpiklaani, Beirut, Flogging Molly, and some other bands- they are one of THE MAIN REASONS I was inspired to start playing accordion.

3. Meeting the Drowningmen and getting into their show for free w/Moneybrother and Flogging Molly on the Green 17 Tour. Unforgettable night.

4. Meeting Jason Webley before he played at the Taphouse in Norfolk, VA. He came up to me and introduced himself and was really nice (he looked much different in person- as he had short hair- and every photograph I had seen of him was with long hair) I made really nice tips that night and used it to buy his records- and he put me on the guest list and got me in his show for free.

w/Aly aka Lady Lamb.

He was a really great guy- not just as a musician- but it was great to get the feeling that he actually cared and was enthusiastic to talk to the fans. His performance by the way- was incredibly memorable- and he has the greatest commanding ability of forcing everyone to just shout and scream along even if they don't know the words. He does a lot of neat fun audience participation in challenging one half of the room to be louder than the other. He does some cool accordion improv- he lets the audience pick songs sometimes for him too- that night he did a cool 80s pop song improv- people just shouted them out and he'd think about it for about 2 split seconds- and start playing whatever songs people called out. Instead of that whole audience worshipping the performer vibe- he creates a different vibe where its like a big party and he's the life of it- musically impressing and hanging out with everyone.

5. Meeting Aly Spaltro (aka Lady Lamb and the Beekeeper)- she offered to get me in the Beirut concert for free- though I already had a ticket, I had a neat chat with her. She put on an incredible opening act! Though only slightly an odd pairing with Beirut (I can't explain why)- she is incredibly captivating- I can often lose interest in watching the lone-singer-songwriter on a guitar- but she had the whole room in the palm of her hand.

Similar to the tattoo the girl on Colley had...

Though this second part didn't really occur because of busking it's still awesome- that same night after the show Zach Condon of Beirut signed my record and said, "That's a very nice accordion". I told him I was surprised that their accordionist, Perrin Cloutier was playing a chromatic button accordion since all the photos I'd seen of their live shots before showed him using a piano accordion- and he goes, "Yeah he recently switched/learned button too- he locked himself in a room for a week" lol though that was brief it was totally awesome. I also met Luke also shortly approximately around this time I think (because I know I've mentioned seeing Beirut before to them all) and then he introduced me to Hunter and John and later on we had Nate aboard- and that's part of how our band met. : )

6. The second time I got to see Drowningmen live when they were touring with Alkaline Trio- while busking outside- Matt Chapin who plays trumpet in Mewithoutyou came up to me and showed me this really awesome huge accordion tattoo on his arm and struck up a neat conversation with me when he said, "That's awesome man- check this out- my grandfather played accordion!" Also while busking after the show was over- people were super nice and excited and into the accordion tunes- their spirits were so high after Alkaline Trio finished up.

7. Improv jamming with various friends/people in the street- Aaron Evans (glockenspiel & guitar) & Mike Twark (drums)- good guys, Wes Sutherland- good harmonica player- always had fun hanging out with Wes- we'd hang out a bit both go hit a corner- and meet up again later- I miss seein' him around- I hope he makes it into a blues band someday- it'd be the perfect fit! Charles from DJ P & Mr. T on violin- I love that guy! He's so nice- and he kills it at the violin- unfortunately we only got to jam together a few times- one time at this cafe together with this guy on tables and the energy was just really clicking'…. various other strangers- a guy who played spoons, a guy who juggled……

8. Another tattoo: this was incredibly funny and cool- busking on Colley avenue- this girl walks up to me and flexes her arm (but she had to use her other hand to jokingly push her "muscle" up- she was a tiny thing lol) and its a tattoo of an accordion and says, "Squeeze this!" lol so awesome. Before that it was just an ordinary day lol.

9. Busking in Williamsburg- early morning before Accordion Festival once- and then later that year before a Reckless Passengers gig at William & Mary: ) 

10. Getting hired for various gigs- some weddings, a French speaking club, Valentines Day, and some restaurant gigs all from giving my number to people in the street who liked what they heard- being fortunate to find a gig for the first 4 months I moved to Alexandria too. : )