The German label Asphalt Tango has a good nose for Eastern European talent. They have already introduced Fanfare Ciocarlia and Mahalia Rai Banda to an international audience. Their latest asset is called Zdob Si Zdub, a group that has been active since the nineties. They are the most famous band in Moldova and have already represented their country twice in the Eurovision Song Contest. Not bad for
… a group that started life as a punk band. During their long career they switched singing language regularly: from Russian to Romanian and on Basta Mafia !, the first international album, (coal) English is the main language. The inciting title track promises a lot, but in other songs the group sounds a bit like a worn out Eastern block version of The Cure. It gets better when wind players or a singer are added to the mix. Despite the contagious enthusiasm of the band members, Basta Mafia! unfortunately turned out to be a changeable album. (PdK)more
