A good Path to follow...

I have trouble finding the words to describe this. If you know Gogol Bordello, this is kinda like them. But I like it much better, much much better. It's melodic, happy, rough, jumpy, funny and serious. A typical gypsy potpourri. Great!

If you don’t like Punk Polka, you aren’t going to like Hoboscopes. It’s a German band (though they sing in English) that has a distinctly, well, Gypsy Punk feel.

The album has a catchy rhythm with a prominent accordion presence (which gives it the distinctive polka sound). The lyrics are generally amusing, but none of the songs stood out to me as really great. I’m not sure whether the style of music just didn’t give me a hook to grab on to, or if the way the songs are written avoids easy encapsulation.

Of the songs that I liked the most, “With Her Love” stands out as a song appropriate to the music style. It has a distinct martial rhythm and formal beat. “Who’s Going to Shoot Me” also has a distinct sound. In fact, the latter may be my favorite song on the album.

Reflecting a bit more, I think the main challenge is that the music never hits a pace much faster than what I’d think of as “standard polka” pace. While the lyrical style definitely feels “punk,” I tend to think of the need for blistering speed as the essential element of punk or pop punk. If you want to do a punk version of a genre, you do it by speeding up (c.f. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes). I don’t feel like the Hoboscopes have sped up enough.

I’d recommend listening to this album to see what the sound is like, but I probably won’t be pursuing this music much beyond this initial week.