Photo by Sanjay Suchak
Today, American punk rock seven piece of mixed heritage from locations such as Ukraine, Ecuador, and Russia, Gogol Bordello, have announced their eighth full-length album SOLIDARITINE will release on Sept. 16 via Casa Gogol/Cooking Vinyl. The 13-track LP was inspired by survival in the face of adversity and retroactively leans towards the experimental hardcore inclinations of the New York-based ensemble.
“Our music was always about perseverance,” Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hutz said in a press release. “Rock ‘n’ roll comes out of a real place. Take a group of people who have endured immigrant traumas and dislocation. They create music, get successful together, become more baroque and experimental, and experience some years of relative calm. All of a sudden, humankind encounters these problems like the pandemic and the war. This is when rock ‘n’ roll is the most necessary and where we perform the best.”
Gogol Bordello tapped New York underground icon and producer Walter Schreifels to assist on the album who is known for his work with Gorilla Biscuits, Rival Schools, Quicksand and emerged with an album rife with an insurgent sound of endurance.
“The album is really about uniting the people of goodwill,” Schreifels revealed. “Releasing any kind of art that doesn’t address the situation in Ukraine right now would be pretty despicable.”
For the album, Gogol Bordello dusted off some puncher tracks that were originally intended for their LP Seekers & Finders, but all of the 13 tracks have unbridled energy. Each of the songs are doused in their trademark Eastern European stomp and holds a sharp focus and intent. “Forces of Victory” features award-winning Ukrainian poet and novelist Serhiy Zhadan and electro-folk band Kazka injecting yet another level of dignity and cultural relevance to the already ironclad project. Of the song, Hutz said, “Entire chunks of the song are instrumental. This year, the words came to me in like five seconds for those parts, and they were distinctly about dignity, integrity, and resilience. The righteous cause of Ukraine is undeniable.”
Gogol Bordello plans to tour in support of the release this fall in North America, kicking things off at Pittsburgh’s Mr. Smalls Theatre on Oct. 20 and making stops in cities including San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, Tulsa, Okla., Columbus, Ohio and more before their final show at Seattle’s Neptune Theatre on Nov. 14.
Tickets for the tour go on sale Friday, July 22, with presales starting on Wednesday, July 20 (artist presale) and Thursday, July 21 (local presale) at 10 a.m. Local Time. Find tickets here and a full list of tour dates below.
TRACK LISTING
1. Shot of Solidaritine
2. Focus Coin
3. Blueprint
4. The Era of the End of Eras (feat. HR)
5. I’m Coming Out
6. Knack For Life
7. The Great Hunt of Idiot Savant
8. Take Only What You Can Carry (feat. KAZKA)
9. My Imaginary Son
10. Forces of Victory (feat. Serhiy Zhadan and KAZKA)
11. Fire On Ice Floe
12. Gut Guidance
13. Huckleberry Generation
Tour Dates
Oct. 20 – Mr Smalls Theatre – Pittsburgh, PA
Oct. 21 – KEMBA Live! Indoor Pavilion – Columbus, OH
Oct. 22 – Bogart’s – Cincinnati, OH
Oct. 23 – Genesee Theatre – Waukegan, IL
Oct. 25 – JJ’s Live – Fayetteville, AR
Oct. 26 – Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa, OK
Oct. 28 – Granada Theater – Dallas, TX
Oct. 29 – The Aztec Theatre – San Antonio, TX
Oct. 31 – El Rey Theatre – Albuquerque, NM
Nov. 1 – Marquee Theatre – Tempe, AZ
Nov. 3 – The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
Nov. 4 – The Observatory North Park – San Diego, CA
Nov. 5 – Majestic Ventura Theater – Ventura, CA
Nov. 7 – Belasco Theater – Los Angeles, CA
Nov. 9 – Fremont Theater – San Luis Obispo, CA
Nov. 10 – The Warfield – San Francisco, CA
Nov. 12 – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR
Nov. 13 – The Commodore – Ballroom Vancouver, BC
Nov. 14 – Neptune Theatre – Seattle, WA