Anybody wondering what happened to
Tom Waits
after
Franks Wild Years
or
Radiohead
OK Computer
need look no further than Norway's
Kaizers Orchestra
. The sextet are about as far from conventional as one could imagine (
Eastern European
folk
music filtered through an apocalyptic
post-rock
prism), so it comes as a bit of surprise that their third full-length recording bears the stamp of
Universal Records
. The cocky, gas mask-loving Scandinavians have always seemed poised to make the leap to a major label, especially after racking up the awards for 2003's independently released
Evig Pint
, but the prospect of hearing their signature blend of pump organs, oil drums, and staccato guitar get the "big time" treatment initially put a scare into longtime fans. They need not worry, however, as the resulting
Maestro
is nothing short of magnificent. A veritable slaughterhouse of ideas, it takes
the Orchestra
's formula one step further, bringing in the occasional vocal manipulation, heavily compressed snare drum, or weepy string/horn section to flesh out what may be the group's most concise and fully realized effort to date. While they remain true to their penchant for
Tin Pan Alley
nightmare music, the 12 cuts that inhabit
veer wildly from genre to genre, taking bits and pieces of
punk
,
funk
jazz
, and
rock
and shredding them to bits. A
blues
-kissed backbone sticks out on
"Knekker Deg Til Sist,"
"Christiania,"
and the brutal closer
"Pa Ditt Skift,"
while
"Blitzregn Baby"
sounds like a collaboration between
Ennio Morricone
Supergrass
the Misfits
. English-speaking audiences don't need to understand a lick of Norwegian to identify with
, as it sets a mood so universal in its volatility that even the most xenophobic listener will have no choice but to hit repeat over and over. ~ James Christopher Monger