Tanz
Golem

We say: Frantic Klezmer Punk from New York City.

Released on Corason, the same Mexican label that once gave us musical worthies like Cuarteto Patria, Tanz is the latest release by the New York-based klezmeristas Golem. Golem — their name comes from that of a sinister monster in Jewish folklore — is a six-piece band known for wild, uninhibited music. This is no exception.

Inspiration comes from the contemporary experience of American Jews and the songs here reflect this. "Tanz," the title song and opener, is a true tale of Roman Blum, a holocaust survivor who became a millionaire in the USA, while "7.40" documents the tough life of an aspiring doctor in the former USSR who experiences anti-Semitism in the Soviet military."Freydele" uses words from a Yiddish children's poem, and "Mikveh Bath" imagines the thought of a Jewish bride taking her ritual bath before the wedding night. There's dark humor too: "Vodka is Poison" apparently makes use of a Russian self-help tape for its lyrical content, and "Poletim" is based on a true story of an incompetent Russian aircraft hijack attempt in which the hapless protagonists demand to be taken to the Jewish autonomous region of Birobidzhan in Siberia.

The music is full of energy and chutzpah, in the same sort of mold as the better known festival rockers Gogol Bordello.Tanz is, in fact, so fast-paced that it can become a little exhausting to listen to after a while. With two charismatic lead singers — Annette Ezekiel Kogan and Aaron Diskin — the virtuoso violin of Jeremy Brown and a solid rhythm section, Golem are clearly a great act to catch live. The trombone work of Curtis Hasselbring is exemplary too, his solo instrument successfully doing the work that would normally be given to an entire brass section.