Punk for the Everyday Gypsy

For over 15 years, Gogol Bordello has been putting a unique style of punk on the map for niche music fans to enjoy. The idea of gypsy punk has been around for longer than the band from Manhattan has been active, but with songs like “Start Wearing Purple” and “Wonderlust King,” Gogol Bordello put the accordion and violin-infused gypsy punk into the eyes of everyday punk fans. Now back with their tenth LP, Gogol Bordello gives us Seekers And Finders.

The opening track, “Did It All” showcases the fast-paced rush of various instruments Gogol Bordello can put on one single track. “Did It All” has a violin and accordion combination riff in the beginning of the song that sounds like something out of a pirate movie. When the track gets going, the background vocals and harmonies of Gogol Bordello are also adding to this gypsy punk formula the band has concocted over the last 17 years. The lead singer, Eugene Hütz, sings in the typical Romanian accent that follows gypsy punk and any traditional gypsy music, although he hails from Ukraine originally. 

If Gogol Bordello does anything that music fans can appreciate, it is their combination of instrumentals. The group is able to make themselves sound like a gypsy orchestra with their production and instrumental talent. “Break Into Your Higher Self” shows how the group is able to mix a violin sound with crazy drum patterns and guitars to make an ethnic combination that adds a high energy that Gogol Bordello accomplishes on the most successful tracks of Seekers And Finders.

 “Saboteur Blues” is the most differentiated track on Seekers And Finders. The guitar chords sound almost metal-like with the haunting vocals of Hütz. When the chorus kicks in, the violin plays a spooky string line as the female background vocalist talks in a foreign language. Although the instruments and vocalists are the same, the song has a different tone from the rest. It gets to the point where Hütz is almost screaming at the end of the track. Even the slower track, “If I Ever Get Home Before Dark,” still sounds like a gypsy punk song, although it is stripped down. “Saboteur Blues” makes itself unique by being spooky with a European accent, rather than punk.

This album is consistent in quality compared to other Gogol Bordello releases from their career. Gypsy punk is a very niche genre of instrumentals and European accents for the common punk fan. If the listener is not into it from the get go, they probably will not want to listen to any other tracks or albums from this classification of music. That being said, if a punk fan is looking for something unique and different to get into, they should give Seekers And Finders a shot, as the album really shows the shows off the important characteristics needed for quality gypsy punk.