Poland!

Infinity could be the soundtrack for the next Hostel.

by Rodney Anonymous

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If the Decemberists had been born in Poland and been the spooky kids who everybody shied away from in school, instead of the kids who got beat up for their lunch money (fun activity: The next time you're at a Decemberists show, shout "Gimme yer lunch money, wimp — NOW!" and watch everybody reflexively reach into their pockets), they would've become the Warsaw Village Band.

If Rasputina ran a meth lab, they, too, would be the Warsaw Village Band.

The Warsaw Village Band's Infinity is a healthy dose of weirdness that could work perfectly as the soundtrack for the next Hostel movie (and there will, inevitably, be another one; that's just the way Hollywood works, kids). You see, the great thing about Warsaw Village Band is that no matter what genre they dabble in — be it an attempt at funk, blues or pop — the result is creepier than finding an autographed picture of Roman Polanski in your child's sock drawer.

Maybe this is because the Warsaw Village Band have armed themselves with strangely named instruments like the suka, nyckelharp and the "fiddle from Plock." (How this differs from a regular fiddle shall forever remain a mystery.) Or maybe there is just something in the air of Eastern Europe that infuses everything with a strange sense of melancholy.

Verdict:

Buy this CD, listen to it, and then hang onto it for a day in autumn — preferably near Halloween — when you feel like taking a long drive, as the music of the Warsaw Village Band will blend nicely with the changing leaves, the chilly air and foggy nights.

(r_anonymous@citypaper.net)