I will not say the phrase “gypsy punk” while writing this review—damn!
Even after Eugene Hütz and his never-ending list of immigrant band mates were banned from CBGB’s, Bowery Ballroom, and The Mercury Lounge, Gogol Bordello still remain at their musical peak after making music together for 10 years.
Their new album, Live From Axis Mundi, features the band’s BBC Sessions, along with raw demos. “You Gave Up (Roumania),” which is over nine minutes, surprisingly isn’t repetitive with its nonstop violin and guitar solos. The album has unreleased songs like the instrumental version of “Immigrant Punk” that lets fans hear the musical clunks and clangs of Gogol Bordello’s shoulder shimmying tunes.
The second disc is footage from their 2007 sold out Irving Plaza shows in NYC, complete with an almost broken violin bow, microphones in the crowd, backup dancers, and random hype men joining in on their wild stage antics. Not enough? The DVD also features extra tracks, music videos, behind-the-scenes and old footage of their early shows.
This album allows people’s senses to work overtime with this little box of Gogol Bordello’s audio visual goodness and it still leaves me thinking, what the hell is Eugene Hütz saying?
In A Word: Vodka
