TITLE: I Love You Madly
LABEL: self-released
If you haven’t seen them yet, DC’s Black Masala is one of the most exciting live acts anywhere in the USA right now. Playing a unique mix of punk rock, Balkan brass, Indian bhangra and New Orleans funk, this horn-driven (trumpet, trombone and sousaphone) septet is a guaranteed party-starter. Their second album does a great job of capturing the frenzied Black Masala experience. Start with 1, the brilliant title track, the best thing this band has committed to tape so far (or 9, a slightly shorter version); it would sound right at home on a Gogol Bordello record. 2 is out of Berlin’s Balkan-beats playbook – it’s a lot like Shantel or the current direction of Boban & Marko Markovic’s Orchestra. Track 3 is a gypsy road sampler, switching effortlessly between bhangra and Balkan brass. 8, a centerpiece of their live show, is the most explicitly New Orleans-influenced number here. And 5 is a new sound for Black Masala: it hearkens back to early New Orleans and the swing era, with a punk energy that’s pure 21st century. This is a regional band that deserves to go national and international, one of the most exciting projects in our part of the world these days.
TOP TRACKS: 1 2 3 5 8 9
ALSO RECOMMENDED: 4 6 7
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