Thursday, February 24, 2011

CD Review: Geoff Berner's 'Victory Party'


Victory Party

Geoff Berner brings a modern approach to Klezmer music and heats it up with avant-garde beats and elements of punk, folk, and alternative music. Of course, the usual strings and horns grace some of the tracks, but the majority of his musical influences are from other sources, too. For instance, China is a big influence on "Mayn Rue Platz", the punky "I Kind Of Hate Songs With Ambiguous Lyrics", and the avante-garde "Rabbi Berner Finally Reveals His True Religious Agenda" shows us a variety of spoken word, classical, Klezmer, and pop directions that Victory Party weave in and out of. "Oh My Golem" is a more upbeat tune with avant-electronica and dance elements with Geoff's vocals. Victory Party is an album that makes one think of the Klezmer music in a whole new way, while the traditional repertoire of brass, strings, and vocals are a thing of the past. The various melodies, instruments, vocals, and rhythms are sure to shake up any Klezmer fan for the better. ~ Matthew Forss

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