Album Review- Gogol Bordello- We Mean It Man

Gogol Bordello are a favorite band of mine. Like the Pogues, they debuted with two largely unheard albums that created a sound that hadn’t come before. (The Pogues on two records that were “import only” in the US, Gogol with two albums for the small Rubric label). 

 The Pogues’ third and fourth albums were their breakout-.the sound finding itself distilled into something more accessible - similarly Gogol Bordello had that moment where the energy of their first releases gelled into a trademark sound- 2005s Gypsy Punks produced by Steve Albini and 2007s Super Taranta produced by Victor Van Vugt (Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Beth Orton).

There’s probably not been a bad Gogol Bordello album. It is interesting that they have continued to work with top name producers for 2010s Trans Continental Hustle (Rick Rubin) and 2013s Pura Vida Conspiracy (Andrew Scheps (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Adele) before self producing 2017 Seekers and Finders. But it might be 2022s Soldaritine that might be the group’s masterpiece. It’s unlikely for any band to have their ninth album be so good but it was truly inspired. It is impossible to separate the song from the reality of the day as it is inspired by a theme of supporting Ukraine which was being invaded by Russia. But also inspired by punk. There’s a cover of Fugazi’s “Blueprint”, a cameo from HR of Bad Brains and the album is produced by Quicksand/Gorilla Biscuits guitarist Walter Schriefels. 

The band always seems to have an eye on what they can do different and 2025s We Mean It Man is definitely a new sound. The opening track and lead single is the title track which I assume is a Sex Pistols reference, but it threw me off (as did the people I knew who were looking forward to this). It’s manic but in a different way. It actually reminds me of digital hardcore band Atari Teenage Riot. 

Things do calm down and hit their stride on the next few tracks which more define the sound. “Life is Possible Again” sounds New Wave but not 80s MTV but the Eastern European version. Then “No Time For Idiots” isn’t quite New Wave either. It has the same energy as say U2s Achtung Baby- pulling those influences without sounding particularly dated. The album despite its first disappointing listen expands to a satisfying new version of the old Gogol. Not quite new wave or dance, but strangely pulling post punk influences for something quite rocking, with an occasional oddball notion like “From Boyarca to Boyaka” which is just perfectly pop. 

They have elected to have Nick Launay produce this one. The producer behind classic post punk albums by Killing Joke and PIL, most of Nick Cave’s more recent work, much of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs catalog, and a significant number of Australian bands like INXS, Midnight Oil , and Silverchalr. It is an inspired pick as the album definitely has those influences. There's also a guest co-lead vocal from Bernard Sumner for a cover of the Angelic Upstarts anthem “Solidarity” rewritten as an Ukraine anthem, the original song being written as a tribute to the Solidarity movement in Poland in the 1980s.

 The result like the rest of the catalog is that it is an album that proves a fine end to end listen. Eugene Hutz and band know how to vary things enough to make it not a carbon copy but something new. Songs like “Solidarity” and “We did Good With the Good we did” could have fit on the last album and definitely fit the vibe of a sequel. In any case, I am glad I spent time with this and it’s exciting to see a band that never gives up on trying something new.