Okay, where to start! Gogol Bordello are a band I first discovered when they accompanied Madonna's performance on, I think, Live Earth. And I'm not a big Moadonna fan, but I thought the guys from Gogol Bordello were amazing and so obviously I had to look them up!

Basically, the band, formed in 1999, hails from New York, although many members are orignally from Eastern Europe. They are a unique-sounding fusion of gypsy folk punk rock, playing instruments such as accordions, violins, guitars and percussion along with vocals.

The band has a great sense of style and always wear unique-looking, and often bright and colourful, clothes on stage, as well as creating a dramatic performance on stage with dancing and humour.

The band currently consists of about 9 members! These include Eugene Hutz on guitars and vocals and some percussion, and Sergey Ryabstev on violin and vocals. Super Taranta is their 4th album released in 2007, and it doesn't disappoint!

This is the first album of their which I bought, so perhaps I am bias! However, now having listened to their earlier stuff, I think their albums follow a nice progression and yet don't loose anything from their style or musical character.

The track listing is:

1. Ultimate - 3:29
2. Wonderlust King - 3:58
3. Zina-Marina - 4:19
4. Supertheory Of Supereverything - 2:56
5. Harem In Tuscany (Taranta) - 3:33
6. Dub The Frequencies Of Love - 6:15
7. My Strange Uncles From Abroad - 5:19
8. Tribal Connection - 5:05
9. Forces of Victory - 5:23
10. Alcohol - 4:54
11. Suddenly... (I Miss Carpaty) - 5:36
12. Your Country - 4:15
13. American Wedding - 3:38
14. Super Taranta! - 6:44

There is such a beautiful sense of freedom and optimism in their songs, even when dealing with difficult subjects and the tough aspects of life, that it is hard not to love their music; it really helps you get though a bad day and enjoy a good day even more! There is a party atmosphere to many of their songs and as musicians, they are just so liberated, not conforming to any trends or musical theory, they really just play from the heart and connect together so well. Their image really compliments their music in this way.


My favourite tracks include:

Wonderlust King - you just can't help singing along...and possibly jumping around with failing arms.

Harem In Tuscany (Taranta) - Quite a humorous song with just amazing delivery; great vocals.

Super Taranta - A fabulous instrumental!

Really though, descriptions of this music just doesn't do it justice, so I reccommend that everyone gives these guys a listen, as they really deserve it and have alot to offer.

The album can currently be purchased from HMV online for £6.99 and Amazon for £6.98.