Wednesday, May 12, 2010 | 5:20 p.m.
Certain cultures believe photography steals a person’s soul. It’s not exactly the “soul” of globe-trotting rabble-rousers Gogol Bordello that gets lost when a snapshot of their breakneck collision of Eastern European folk and hug-it-out punk is captured on disc, but results have yet to vary. Next to their raucous live shows, albums are hollow, pale imitations, and full-length No. 5 is no different.
Nevertheless, revolution and diversity remain at the thematic foreground of the band’s Columbia debut. The curious Rick Rubin pairing manifests itself through noticeable production sheen and the inclusion of comparatively low-key breathers like accordion-swept “Sun Is on My Side,” and slow-building “When Universes Collide,” while “Uma Menina Uma Cigana” and “Last One Goes the Hope” settle around a comfortable 55 instead of the band’s typical 60 revolutions-per-minute. At least it’s nice to know that as Eugene Hutz’s newly adopted Brazil widens his ever-expanding horizons, it doesn’t leave him too mellow.
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