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6:28 p.m. - 2010-06-29 Yazoo Shakes Self-released Memphis� the Yazoo Shakes just managed to get their debut recording, You Get A Red Star, out this month before abruptly announcing they would be taking off a few months. Fans of the Shakes� live shows � among the most dynamic and energetic in town � will have to console themselves with this six-song EP, a fair representation of the real deal, in the meantime. Yazoo Shakes: "You Get a Red Star" The Shakes are a deep fried version of Gogol Bordello, an acclaimed band originally from New York, that has pioneered the genre of Gypsy punk. Like Bordello, the Shakes incorporate a lot of Eastern European tones and abruptly shifting folk rhythms. This influence is most pronounced on the EP�s opening track, appropriately titled �Bordello.� But where their role models also imbue their music with a manic punk energy, the Shakes prefer to bake in the sounds of the American South � the blues, country, and New Orleans jazz. The difference makes for a less-challenging-but-more-melodic listen. And on deeper cuts like �Everyone�s Game� or closer �Seeds Of Stone,� with its haunting mid-section, the derivations and pretensions seem to melt away, exposing the genuine emotional power underneath. The artistic logic of the Shakes� Gypsy blues may be iffy � I don�t believe any of the band�s six members are, in fact, Gypsies � but the originality of what they�re doing is hard to deny.
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