JARO MILKO & THE
CUBALKANICS
Cigarros Explosivos!
Asphalt Tango Records
4614
* * *
Let's see–a Czech expatriate living in Switzerland who plays
grunge-laced surf guitar and fronts a band specializing in Balkan music by way
of Cuba, Jamaica, Brazil, and Peru. It's a mashable world, baby. The opening track
is called "Cumbia Griega," but though cumbia hails from Colombia, you can be forgiven if this tune makes
you think Dick Dale was hijacked by a group of belly dancers. It's followed by
"El Topo," with fuzzed-out guitar and rolling organ notes evocative
of an electric Kool-aid acid test somewhere south of the border. Milko really
has the surf music/reggae thing going on in "All the Past," serves up
mariachi-influenced blaring brass in "Belly's Bounce," and turns to some
tongue-in-cheek Django jazz in "Nah Nah Nah." If you're looking for
the Cuban parts implied by the band name, you'll find it in the swaying chorus
of "Miseria," but you'll also hear some dance hall and studio tricks thrown
in to keep you slightly off stride. Once he's got you there, he knocks you
completely off your pins on "Danza Mentirosa," which comes across as intergalactic
experimental music. Even the cover art and album title signal that Jaro Milko
is more interested in making a joyous, offbeat record than in pleasing purists.
If there is a downside, it's that Milko sometimes goes too far. This is
particularly the case with his growly vocals; he's either trying to lampoon
Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello, or he simply can't sing a note. But we can
overlook this on an album that covers more ground than National Geographic.
Rob Weir
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