From the minds of one of the avant-garde groups on the edge of contemporary klezmer comes this sophomore release from Frank London's Hasidic New Wave. The klezmer is definitely not in its pure early European form, that much is for sure. There's a thumping bass groove underlying half of the tracks and carefully laid-out jazz horns over the top of all the parts. Each member of the band contributes at least one composition to the finished product here, with an extra for London. Some fuzzed guitars work their way into bits from ...
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From the minds of one of the avant-garde groups on the edge of contemporary klezmer comes this sophomore release from Frank London's Hasidic New Wave. The klezmer is definitely not in its pure early European form, that much is for sure. There's a thumping bass groove underlying half of the tracks and carefully laid-out jazz horns over the top of all the parts. Each member of the band contributes at least one composition to the finished product here, with an extra for London. Some fuzzed guitars work their way into bits from the cantorial repertoire later in the album. There are also interludes of rituals from a Yom Kippur ceremony, translated into music. To top it off, there's a quick attempt at dub thrown in for good measure, with an unstoppable guitar riff powering it through. For someone interested in the new directions klezmer is and has been taking, anything from one of Frank London's various groups (the Klezmatics, Hasidic New Wave, solo projects) is a worthwhile endeavor. For those interested in traditional forms of klezmer, go somewhere else. ~ Adam Greenberg, Rovi
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