Dancylvania

The Baghdaddies are nothing if not eclectic. This Geordie five-piece with Mesopotamian overtones and a Balkan brass bedrock have weaved together a new album that strays into Welsh, Jamaican, Bulgarian, Indian and Ottoman Bosnian territory. Now that's some fusion. The name Dancylvania is apt. Not only do the shadows of Balkan brass masters Goran Bregović and Ivo Papasov stretch long across their music – the last track ‘Ivo’ is dedicated to the latter – but as a consequence, the music is most definitely for dancing. From the word go, you are not intended to keep your feet still. The pace is unrelenting and the whirl of styles disorientating.

The album starts with the funky ‘Stash, its Welsh lyrics rolling it into the standout track, ‘Keep Ya Feet Still’. This Geordie folk song about two men who find themselves in the same bed is a classic, and the Baghdaddies' treatment is gorgeous. Rarely has English folk sounded so sexy. Sadly, after the short, evocative interlude of ‘Into the Ether’ and with the exception of the stately ‘Slow March to China,’ the album seems to chug nowhere in particular. The driving sax, sousaphone and trumpet-laden tracks begin to merge into one another, and while it might keep you dancing, it doesn't really keep you listening. There are interesting choices behind the tracks – ‘Shri’ is based on an Indian raga framework while ‘Why’ matches Ottoman Bosnian lyrics to a Bulgarian folk tune – but the results aren't arresting. You'll keep playing that Geordie folk song though.