Album Review: Gogol Bordello - Pura Vida Conspiracy

Those crazy Romani-gypsy punks are back! It's been three years since Gogol Bordello's last proper album Trans-Continental Hustle, which was an unfortunate step away from the passionate and beautiful energetic music they've been making since 1999 and a move towards straighter folk rock. Pura Vida Conspiracy certainly doesn't escape this movement in its opening We Rise Again, which is more on the 'again' than the 'rise'. From there, things get much better, though.

Much of the pleasure of Gogol Bordello stems from Eugene Hutz – the band's frontman and vocalist – and his energy. His personality and love of life drips through every heavily accented couplet on the record, whether in English or not. It's hard not to hear highlight tunes like Malandrino and I Just Realized as confessional tunes, which only adds to their appeal.

Late album standout John The Conqueror comes the closest to matching the band's older, arguably more innocent and wide eyed mix of Romani-folk and New York punk rock. As occasionally frustrating as it is when the band move towards more traditional territory, heartfelt closer We Shall Sail does end the record of a beautifully warm note.

The band certainly have their niche carved out, even within the already niche 'gypsy punk' movement. No one does existentially hopeful partying quite like these guys, so even when an album only seems like a relatively slight return to form, after a very minor misstep, it's difficult not to celebrate. This doesn't capture the passion or pleasure on Gogol Bordello's earlier releases, but it does show a surprisingly sombre and heartfelt tone in between the dancing.