Slavic Soul Party rode the WFMU charts long enough last Fall for me to take serious notice. When the local patchouli clearinghouse and Hot Tuna repository had their semi-annual sale, I forced myself to check out their Balkan corner. Lo ‘n behold it was there, so I dropped the cash and headed home for the Turkish coffee. Turns out they're actually not from Macedonia, which is more than just a little disappointing, at least to this Slavophile. I like anything Balkan, well, other than Milosevic domestic policy. It's utterly bizarre that such a dour people have some of the liveliest music around. That's about the only disappointment to be had, however. Turning this on is something like opening up your bathroom and finding a gypsy wedding happening. It's just a goddamn great time, unexpected. Slavic Soul Party are actually a savvy bunch of New York (two of whom have Slavic names, so that's probably the connection) horn players who got Knitting Factory to sponsor their avant oompa-loompa outfit. The instrumentation goes: trombone, tapan, darabouka, snare, riq, accordion, clarinet and cornet. It's rich, spicy stuff. Ahoy.