With Polka[s] for a Gloomy World, Denton's Brave Combo returns to dance with the music that brought them their reputation. The band, which will preview the CD at Club Dada July 1, has changed a bit from the pattern of the last decade, when they were exploring different ethnic musics assiduously -- relentlessly, even -- and grew a bit weary of the "nuclear polka" tag that made their fame.

Gloomy World marks a return for the band, but redefinition -- not repetition -- is the mission. According to band member Carl Finch, the Combo's new polka dawn has a prime objective: to get listeners to accept polka as a type of music whose name has as much range and reverence as genres like bluegrass.

"Other types of music, like Cajun, have escaped to earn broad-based respect," Mr. Finch said in a telephone interview Monday. "It's time to separate people from their ideas about polka."

Polka[s] for a Gloomy World isn't a remedy for the state modern life, it's a commentary on it. Musicianship is first-rate, and the band can't help but be educational, offering a mix of European and Mexican tunes whose boundaries often seem to overlap and blur.

A dusty conjunto accordion line echoes the clarinet part in a peppy Polish number. Contemplating accents that stretch back the klezmer roots of a long-dead Eastern Europe, it occurs to the listener that most of the nations involved in the polka tradition--Czechoslovakia, Poland, Mexico--have tragic histories.

Originally, that was the point, Mr. Finch maintains. "The whole idea was escape from the troubles of day-to-day life, but it doesn't have to just be that. It can go much deeper; it can address the things going on in people's lives just like rock 'n' roll can."

Brave Combo succeeds in bringing an old stereotype new life. One narrator is so bored that the idea of alien visitation holds no terror, only the hope of a break in the monotony; another advises a friend with wanderlust that he still has a home, should his travels reveal the world to be empty. You suspect he's already made the trip.

The album-closing take on the steinhoisting standard "In Heaven There Is No Beer" is the most overt announcement. Instead of a swaying, woozily cheerful fatalism, the listener gets a rowdy, punkishly hollered assurance that war and addiction will continue regardless.

The whistling-past-the-graveyard aspects of polka are apparent for the first time. Hey, why so bouncy, anyway? Hiding something? Scared? Although, Mr. Finch prefers a word like "serious," Brave Combo has made the first dark--shaded, at the very least -- polka album.

Notable for ambition, exceptional in execution, Polka[s] For A Gloomy World takes an unexpected form and subtly fits it to modern sensibilities in a way that suggest similarities rather than differences. It certainly makes a good case for music as the universal solvent.

Ink Nineteen
August 1995

It's always a sunny day when a new Brave Combo CD arrives. If it were possible to harness a bands' joy and energy, they could run the city of L.A., not that I'd like that, as it would take them away from incessant touring and coming to my neck of the woods every year or so.

As you might guess from the title, this album is mostly polkas, the second such outing for the band. (For more polka, and you can never have too much, check out Polkatharsis.) The listener is given a whirlwind tour of the many styles of polka, from Old World Polish and Czech stompers to the more soulful Texan and norteño styles. Brave Combo prove conclusively that you can't get more punk than polka: the irresistible up-and-down beat, the happy melodies (sometimes they're sad/emo, too!), the brief song lengths. I consider it a bonus that their instruments don't have to be plugged in. If you think they're square, you're closed-minded.

On to the album itself: my personal favorites are the perennial crowd-pleasers like "Hosa Dyna" and "The Faithful Hussar," but that's probably because of the familiarity and the happy memories they evoke. They're all great! I'm especially attracted to the odd timing of "Mystery Spot Polka" and the haunting melody of "Near the Karpat Mountains." Polkas for a Gloomy World is just that: a tonic to brighten up any dreary gray day. Rounder Records, 1 Camp St., Cambridge, MA 02140

The Riverfront Times
St. Louis, MO
August 23-29, 1995

The cover of Brave Combo's first record, Music for Squares from 1981, shows a closeup of a woman's feet standing on a platform that says, "polka." Her feet are discolored, and the tattered remains of nylons are barely attached to a few toes. It's somewhat disturbing image, but underlying its punch is the knowledge that these haggard feet are the result of hard dancing, so it's difficult to feel sorry for the woman--unless one starts to think that maybe she was forced to dance. And for anyone who has ever seen Brave Combo perform, this is within the realm of possibility.

Until Brave Combo emerged from Denton, Texas, nearly 15 years ago, polka music was a resident of Squaresville. It was the music that our grandparents listened to, so it couldn't possibly be enjoyable, let alone "cool." Then came Brave Combo, young Texans with long hair and an attitude, determined to drag polka, rhumba, and cha-cha-cha out of American Legion halls and into nightclubs. Not only did they succeed, but in the process they singlehandedly claimed the genre as their own; before Brave Combo, the challenge "Name a polka band" was met with a blank stare or a "Who cares?" Since then, the most likely response from anyone who has ever seen them is a twinkle, a smile and "Brave Combo."

Throughout the years, their style has remained singularly focused around polka. In Brave Combo's deft hands, polka is serious business, their knowledge of the genre is overwhelming and spans the globe, from its Eastern European birthplace to Germany and Russia, and across the Atlantic where it melted into the Mexican pot creating the wonderful Tejano style centered near the Mexico-Texas border. All these styles of polka are represented on their new album, Polkas for a Gloomy World (Rounder.)

Brave Combo's music is some the best ever for housecleaning. Listening to their songs, especially Polkatharsis, makes even the most mundane tasks like mopping the floor or changing the kitty litter seem a little more enjoyable, and Gloomy World is hardly an exception. From the opening countdown of the first song, "Housa [sic] Dyna" (roughly translated as "darn it"), the album is vintage Combo: manic, lively and fun. A steady, relentless happy tone permeates the disc; polka music is inherently celebratory, and Gloomy World will cheer up even the most determinedly depressed soul.

Even more, it seems as though Brave combo has created their Sgt. Pepper. Rather than rotely recording the songs, the band has added creative elements that polish the album with a wonderful sheen. Music [sic] for a Gloomy World is filled with studio additions such as tape reversals, noise makers and bells that couldn't possibly be effectively recreated live. In less able hands such additions risk being distracting, but the band has succeeded in creating polka with depth.

But neither a compact disc nor the written word does justice to the joyous celebration that is a Brave Combo performance live, the Combo produces an energy that flows like magic into the the bodies of the audience, until almost immediately the dance floor is packed with people, and there's a wonderful feeling of shared joy and community that only the best music can provide. A Brave Combo performance is at once a creation and a celebration of that euphoric feeling. And lest the reader fear that there will be barrage of traditional beer-barrel polkas, Brave Combo has the ability to turn any song into a polka. They've been know to do remarkable versions of the Doors' "People Are Strange" and Iron Butterfly's "In-A Gadda-Da-Vida" among their staggering repertoire of traditional tunes. And despite what the little "hip" voice in the back of the reader's head has been taught to think about the inherent squareness of polka, one night spent with Brave Combo is enough to prove to that voice that, with its steady beat, manic accordion, clarinet and horn accompaniment, and shout-it-out vocals, polka music is some of the best dance music ever created. Maybe our grandparents knew something that only an experience such as seeing Brave Combo could teach us.

Brave Combo will be playing a free show at Union Station this Friday, Aug. 25, at 7 p.m. as part of the RFT-sponsored Red Wolf Rhythm & Roots Concert Series, and the venue is a perfect opportunity for newcomers to witness the controlled mayhem that is a Brave combo performance. Because they've toured so frequently since their inception, their fans are some of the most devoted anywhere, immediately lunging toward the dance floor at the first sign of music, and then dancing nonstop until the final note is played. Founder Carl Finch has become so comfortable with his audience that he's a wonderful master of ceremonies, leading the audience in call-and-response choruses and providing a relaxing atmosphere conducive to fun. Be warned: don't attend if you don't want to dance, because it takes much more work to resist the beat than to succumb to it.

Polish American Journal
December 1995

As a rule, I try to avoid reviewing new polka albums. The romantic in me prefers the folksy spontaneity heard on a Pawel Humeniak 78 r.p.m. to the formula arrangements of today. Likewise, my idealist side avoids the "every-band-sounds-alike/get-'em-in-get-'em-out" recordings that plague today's industry. My cynic (or synek, as my mom calls me) sees the disregard for Polish-language vocals as a death knoll for the Polish American polka market.

But hey, that's me, and I am sure you're glad I don't review too many albums.

But a new album has been released that made me take notice. A recording that -- in my opinion -- makes a statement about one of the real driving forces behind good polka music: it makes people happy.

Polkas for a Gloomy World by Brave Combo (Rounder Records 9045) is a CD that is the future of our beloved polka, whether we like or not.

For those of you not familiar with this radical lot, Brave Combo is a group of super-talented musicians from Denton, Texas, who love the polka more than all the Stan Kozaks, Polka Pals, Eddie Blazonczyks and Lenny Golmulkas combined. They are outsiders looking in, and what they see are just plain old people have plain old fun dancing to what used to be known as "happy, snappy polka music." And, as outsiders, they have set a boundary of just how far a polka can be taken and still remain a polka. If there are such things as polka neo-traditionalists, Brave Combo fills the order.

While the average polka fan of today will find Polkas for a Gloomy World "not their cup of tea," they may, like me, be absolutely fascinated with Brave Combo's decision to voluntarily study virtually every style of polka played and translate that into something that will hopefully create a wider audience for the 2/4 beat.

Brave Combo is unique in that its members play polkas because they WANT TO. While it would be hard to find a polka musician today who will tell you he is playing polkas because he HAS TO, many do so with the attitude that they are doing the fans a favor by playing polkas. The performers who really love the music and want to see it continue for the right reasons are growing fewer and farther apart. (We know who you are and we are watching you!) That's what makes Brave Combo stand out. This band doesn't HAVE TO play polkas to survive.

Brave Combo's live performances cover the musical spectrum from Blues to Brahms, but they have chosen to record polkas and waltzes. In an age when alternative music radio stations are turning up faster than new releases by Sunshine Records, and the market for that kind of music is making dollars for just about anyone who knows two chords on a guitar, Brave Combo has recorded an album of polkas. If that ain't alternative, I give up. What I am saying is don't expect to hear TBC [The Brass Connection] on an alternative music radio station, but don't be alarmed when you heard Brave Combo's version of "Hosa Dyna" on an MTV Beach Party.

Polkas for a Gloomy World covers all bases. "Hosa Dyna" (sung in pretty darn good Polish), an English Stan Wolowic-esque version of "Pije Kuba," and the Versatones' arrangement of "Potato Chips" polka reflect the Polish American influence on the polka. There are Southwestern polkas, Tex-Mex style polkas, German, Russian and even an American-style favorite on this new Rounder release.

For those of you who grew up in the Larry Trojak era of polka experimentation, "Mystery Spot" polka will force you to check to the credits to make sure Trojak didn't write this one. The song, by Brave Combo's Jeff Barnes, is best described by its liner note: "It seems there is a measure of 9 beats and a measure of 7 beats and somewhere in those two measures lurks the mystery spot. This is the song you hear when you visit one of those crazy houses with the slanted floor."

While it is not THE song you hear while running through a fun house, you will have fun while dancing to it around your house.

What I also found interesting was the way Brave Combo handled song credits. Unlike a majority of polka bands who just throw the word "traditional" after every song they consider a standard, Brave Combo did its homework and correctly give credit where credit is due, right down to "Blazonczyk-Gomulka-Darlak/Sajewski Music SESAC" for "Potato Chips" polka.

If your polka recording buying is limited to bands playing on the Polish American circuit today, Polkas for a Gloomy World will probably not be to your liking. If you have a deep respect for the music and understand its place among musics of the world-and are looking for another honest opinion of what the polka is -- then this new CD will certainly grow on you. You may be wary of buying this one if you have purchased previous Brave Combo recordings, but fear not: the band has evolved into a group of zippy polka musicians. They've shed their intellectual justification of the polka as the conclusive form of alternative music, and instead push, squeeze, bang, pluck and sing some happy music for happy people.