Punk

The ordinary third-wave ska sound is full of distorted power chords and repetitive hornlines. I'm very glad to say that this deviates from the average third-wave ska outfit. The music remains skankable and close to the normal ska audience that it's aimed for and has more that even the non ska crowd can appreciate. From the laid back acoustics of "Alma Ata" and "Epilogue" to the more punkish "Decemberists Song", the album definitely delivers what you would expect from Catch 22 and a bit more.

Gogol Bordello produces a sound best described as a juxtaposition of Eastern European folk music and modern punk. The band is fronted by Eugene Hutz, a Ukrainian who came to New York after being evacuated from Chernobyl because of the nuclear reactor disaster. The rest of the band is formed by a myriad of diaspora who provide a welcome new sound to the punk genre. Many of Gogol Bordello’s songs begin with guitar work that will be familiar to American punk fans, but soon explode into raucous melodies strongly flavored by the band’s heritage. The song “Not A Crime,” from a recent album “Gypsy Punks Underdog World Strike,” begins with strong power chords on the guitar, then the melody is carried away by frantic fiddle-work suspended by an accordion.

The female face of punk-rock has never looked s prom queen-pretty. Shedding her “Sk8r Grrrl” persona from her debut album, Avril’s sophie record is more heartfelt, even betraying a hint of melancholy.