The Merry Poppins is first and foremost a live band, fusing skankin urban roots reggae, soul, dub, jazz and popolka into hypnotic and danceable grooves. The original compositions reach from quiet ballades to highly danceable offbeat and also the lyrics cover a wide range: From loosely affixed word installations, snap-shots, and dreamscapes to freaky musical interpretations of Rudyard Kiplings thoughts in tracks such as she and sahara. The empathetic lyrics touch the audience and at the same time, the band succeeds in catering for the listeners musical desires with jazzy and rocky tunes. Many of the rhythms and melodies that the merry poppins play appear to sound familiar - however, the songs smoothly develop into self-contained ear candies. And theres no chance for not havin a boogie!
Ever since their 2004 live-debut at the Jazzit:Music:Club in Salzburg, The Merry Poppins have rapidly turned from an insider tip, rockin the party-cellars of the city, into a hot stage act.
Just by chance (I originally went to see Escorzo), I had the luck of recently witnessing the full 'the merry poppins' line-up (comprised of 7 performers at the time) put on one of the most convincing sets I have witnessed in a long while, at Salzburg's ARGE. I danced continuously for the better part of 2 hours to the groups funky Balcans-Klezmer - reggae - whateva grooves, along with a couple hundred other music fans who also had gigantic smiles on their faces. 'the merry poppins' put on an awesome live performance: the singer even took off and jittered above the audience as a butterfly, a 'mariposa,' while performing the song by the same name. (check out their myspace for a video of the show)
Now their first album has dropped and their energetic live-sound has been recreated on CD, with Lageder's voice being something of the centrifugal force that brings everything together. In a husky, mellow drawl he drops some Jamaican (or is it the Balkans, or is it a 30s sound? - one never knows...) influenced melodies.
The album was recorded at the band's home base 'Mildenburg 11' and the sound quality resembles the irresistible charm of the building which is to be demolished by fall... and also the irresistible charm of the band!
