Rhythm Junkies – Drunk Sessions

Stretching to eleven members and having survived for over a decade Lithuania’s Rhythm Junkies are as much a jazz collective as a traditional band. Think of Baby Soda and the Loose Marbles in the United States. They consider themselves a “Street Swing Ensemble” and originally formed to provide the local Lindy Hop community music to dance to that wasn’t coming from speakers. While they still enjoy busking in the fresh air, long winters, swing events, and a growing reputation now find them frequently on stage. They’ve even guested in videos with European pop bands to add some jazz flavor to their tracks and videos. Their first album in eight years, Drunk Sessions, is a testament to the commitment they have to each other. Despite targeting swingers their sound is traditional ensemble jazz: tuba, banjo, washboard even kazoo. Tracks featuring violin and accordion lend an unavoidable European flavor but the guitar is kept a rhythm instrument. Milda Stasaitytė is a rare treat on vocals singing in an unamplified Sophie Tucker style that gives her tracks an acoustically-recorded quality. The male vocals are joyful, and usually done as an accent chorus, but where Mindaugas Bikauskas leads he is the better of many men fronting trad bands in the US. “I’ve found a new baby” is given an instrumental go at a tempo that allows the instruments to speak for themselves. Actually, n