Di Grine Kuzine
Berlin Wedding
Skycap Records (www.skycap.de)

On their fourth album, Berliners Di Grine Kuzine continue their tour of eastern and western Europe, with a couple of quick swings across the pond. Cabaret, klezmer, gypsy brass band, and even a little rap make up this sophisticated, juicy disc. The horns are alternately crisp and creamy. Snorre Schwarz's percussion pops and swings. Alexandra Dimitroff's vocals have a chameleon-like ability to shift timbres to suit a German cabaret ballad or a Balkan wedding song or a pseudo-mambo. They quote a little Mussorgsky on "Sakarpatia," a darkly bouncy party song. "Onkel in Amerika" is a noirishly hip slow groove, with rapping and horn motifs over a two-note accordion ostinato. The sultry "Tango Verde" is not really a tango in the strict sense of the word but it nonetheless sets a seductive mood. "Straighten up your life" is a polka that wouldn't be out of place at any Slovenian-American wedding, but is ever so slightly skewed in that Brave Combo kind of way. "Brettsegeln" combines gypsy brass with surf rock in a swirl that will have you twisting by the pool all night long. Surprisingly, they end this whole party with a funeral dirge ("Jost ne Sviti") that wouldn't be out of place on the streets of New Orleans. But wait - those phone dialing tones at the end herald a fun little hidden track. Di Grine Kuzine is a band that likes to yank your chain, but it's all in good fun and showmanship and a great party record. - Peggy Latkovich

CD available from cdRoots

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