Although they breezed through New Mexico last December on their latest tour, (their only performance a private house concert), don’t hold it against them. Go out and buy the new disc from award-winning, Baltimore-based SONiA & disappear fear. Already a fan, I have to admit I was predisposed to like this record. While you won’t find any of the tasty out-and-proud songs that spiced up some of their earlier records (“Laws of Nature”, “Who’s So Scared”), you will find the same passion for poetry, peace, life, love and art that have fueled lead singer/songwriter and df founder Sonia Rutstein for over two decades. You’ll also find the same sweet sandy-voiced harmonies, solid acoustic rock sensibility and gift for melody.
Only this time SONiA takes us on a multi-lingual trip around the world, composing songs in Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew and English, demonstrating quite literally that if we want to get along with other cultures, perhaps we ought to try speaking their language. I can’t vouch for her accent, but SONiA sounds completely at ease and sings with a characteristic fire that convinces you she’s telling the truth whether you understand the language or not.
The opening track “Telepatia Sexual”, originally written and recorded in English on the1989 release Deep Soul Diver, starts disc off on a sexy, rhythmic note and if it doesn’t make you jump up and dance you’d better check your pulse. The hypnotic “Shorashim” (“roots” in Hebrew), sung with guest vocalist Rabbi Elizabeth Bolton, is a reminder that all borders are man-made (“the seagulls rest on the buildings at the borders/they fly without a passport, they don’t speak English or French or Hebrew or Arabic”). “Mica Moca” (“Who is Greater”) describes a trip to the Middle East (“My family asked me not to come/But I had to feel your grace . . . This land I’m standing on/who’s right and who’s wrong . . . I think your god likes me/I think my god likes you too”).
These are vintage SONiA musings that demand to be savored. Certain lyrics may seem underwritten, but there’s a lot to be said for not over-telling a story. She seems to enjoy coaxing us into a scene she’s constructed only to leave us there to draw our own conclusions, as if to gently remind us that every story has a thousand possible endings. On the other hand, the hot latin pulse of “Porque Estamos Aqui” (“Because We Are Here”) is forthright in its summation of military madness and leaves little to the imagination except perhaps hope: “Too many bullets/Too many evil perspectives/ Too much money being spent/In the name of defense.”). There are also love songs, most notably the pulsating, flamenco-flavored “Cayendo” (“Falling”) in which she describes waking up with a love-hangover (“I don’t know if it’s last night’s buzz/but I feel like I’m falling in love . . . Every little thing she does/every little glance that I see/I can’t help the feeling that’s feeling inside of me”)
The overall musical landscape is one of rich cultural textures and ironic idioms, as if the Indigo Girls were hanging out with the Gypsy Kings at a Bar Mitzvah in Baghdad. Peppered with the ethnic sounds of djembes, tin whistles and violins, the result is an exciting Latin-Middle Eastern folk-pop fusion.
As if this weren’t enough, the CD comes with lyrics in four languages in a generous 24-page booklet printed over a colorful, Joni Mitchelllike display of SONiA’s paintings. This girl is no slouch.
Like any band that has survived decades of life on the road, disappear fear has been through a few incarnations. SONiA and sibling Cindy Frank originally founded df in the late 80’s. Currently, df is comprised of SONiA and percussionist- vocalist Laura Cerulli. But no matter what their current line-up, Tango proves once again that df is the best thing to come out of Baltimore since John Waters.
Tango is available from disappearfear.com or cdbaby.com