Wednesday, February 9, 2011

"Ululating"

Song: "Donque Donque Kjang"
Artist: Ululating Mummies
Search Term: "Ululating"

Though I suspect the Ululating Mummies are, at heart, a goofy jam band (their MySpace page is topped with a photo of their bandoneonist wearing a leopard-print pope hat on stage), this natty instrumental cruises along with the disciplined precision of Soul Coughing or Morphine at their slickest. The upright bass and percussionist(s?) provide a jazzy chase theme, and they're soon aided by a bassoon playing an infectious counterpoint to the bassline. Another counterpoint--this time inspired by the music of Eastern Europe--is then stacked on top by a saxophone and bandoneon, and all the pieces are in place for what becomes a breathlessly cool and addictive piece of genre-mixing giddiness. Even the trio of solos in the song's middle section doesn't feel like padding or wankery, but supports the tune's galvanic momentum because these guys clearly know what they're doing. If The Amazing Race felt like getting particularly cinematic during one of the show's journeys to St. Petersburg or the Ukraine, "Donque Donque Kjang" would make a dandy soundtrack to a rapidly-cut montage of teams speeding between destinations. I really, really like this one.

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