Ruthless Cosmopolitans
Ruthless Cosmopolitans / Ruthless, 2020
Available from Bandcamp.
I have been following the music of Jon Madof and Yossi Fruchter (and their many friends) with delight and pleasure for many years. Some recordings I have enjoyed. A few, like this one, became key parts of my personal soundtrack. When this dropped, towards the end of the Trump presidency, it, and Abraham, Inc's "Together we stand", became the activist soundtrack to my political work, the music that kept me dancing as I joined with the many people working on a revolution (to paraphrase Emma Goldman who, after all, would have fit in beautifully). Not bad for a group whose opening track was inspired by revulsion at the white supremacist march in Charlottesville, VA where Heather Heyer was murdered.
The EP opens with "Make America Hate Again," with its refrain: "Repeal/Resist/Retweet", written in response to Charlottesville, and continues its brilliant mix of punk, funk, jazz, and general bad attitude. There is also fun and cleverness to the lyrics. I especially enjoyed what I heard as an homage to the Dead Kennedys, "God hates fags," (or as recorded on the set list, "Gawd hates flags").
I wish I could say that since the inauguration of a new president, I have stopped needing this recording. The world is not yet healed, and the rage and craziness have not yet abated. And this is still a magical, wonderful, loud, noisy, affirmation of life that I would guess I'll be listening for a while to come.
Reviewed by Ari Davidow, 15 May 2021.
Personnel this recording:
Eden Pearlstein: vocals
Jon Madof: guitars
Yoshie Fruchter: bass
Manny Laine: drums
Additional musicians:
Elana Brody: vocals
Talia Madof: vocals
Greg Wall: saxophone
Frank London: trumpet
Brian Marsella: keyboards
Marlon Sobol: percussion
Songs
- Make America Hate Again 4:44
- The Screen Age 3:19
- Book of Ruthless 3:41
- Gawd Hates FlaGS 2:30
- Faux King Crazy 3:39
- Nothing in a good way 1:01
All songs written by Eden Pearlstein and Jon Madof
