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What do you get when you combine musicians from Croatia, Macedona, Bosnia and Jamaica? There's no punch line to this one, but La Cherga's latest album, Revolve (Asphalt Tango) is certainly punchy. The Jamaican connection underlies a pop take on Balkan brass, creating the conditions for what could be a mess or bliss. I'll vote the latter on this fine 11-track outing. New lead singer Adisa Zvekic has a deep, hefty voice that oddly reminds me of Martha Gonzalez from Los Angeles's Quetzal. Spread out against the band's hyper riddims and formidable bass lines, along with the brass that runs the melodies, Zvekic adds lyrical splashes across a full-on dance album. At times the guitars get unruly and metalish ("One"), but based on grooves like "Sufi Dub," this band will go far. A reverberant melodica opens to a stable kick drum, the Balkan effect softer, more Black Ark-ish. Later, on "Votka Dot Kom," we hear a subdued Gogol Bordello, with Eugene Hutz charismatically winding over an acoustic guitar and sharp snare (only Eugene is played by Mc Killo Killo dropping some vodka-friendly hip-hop/sing-song indicative of earlier Ojos de Brujo). I'm loving the friendliness and nonchalance as well as the serious musicality of this group. Betting you will too. 05/16/11
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