(Inertia)

They describe their act as ‘kabaret noir’, and it fits

Behind the façade of Mikelangelo & The Black Sea Gentlemen, there lurks … well, I don’t really know. They’ve hidden their real identities, so I have to take them at face value – even though the members have such improbable names as Guido Libido and Rufino the Catalan Casanova. But they’ve been touring this country since 2000 (so take with a large dose of salt their claims to have emerged from Communist Yugoslavia and to have wowed the crowds in Kirov). But, as their name implies, their musical hearts are in eastern Europe, with Balkan folk, gypsy, klezmer and other traditional feels portrayed with accordion, clarinet fiddle and double bass. It’s all then cranked up on this third album with a vaudevillian exaggeration that pushes these apparently sonorous, serious songs about death and dissipation into mock-epic melodrama. And frontman Mikelangelo has a theatrical baritone to boost the sense of shadowy cabaret here. So tracks like The Struggle To Be Human and The Devil’s Wedding work on two levels – dank and mysterious, but also darkly comic. If you’re still not in on the joke, try Ten Long Years In The Saddle (Waiting For Death To Come) – it’s like Johnny Cash lost in Romania. Overtly comedic visual cues make their concept work better live, but there’s enough here to have you joining in on the noir-ish fun.      

***½

BILL HOLDSWORTH

Be first to comment on this article

Write Comment
Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Poster's IP addresses are logged.
Name:
Comment:
Code:*