An adventurous spirit is imperative to appreciate Darko Rundek, who trades in various musical influences with his international Cargo Orkestar. In this callaloo, there’s cabaret and tango, rock and poetry, pseudo-klezmer and Eastern Europop, irony-a-go-go and even the occasional drop of sentiment. Rundek has a Tom Waits-like rasp and a mighty bass, though it plays more theatrically than anything else. (Not surprisingly Darko, who’s Croatian, has a directing degree from a Parisian theater school.) There are echoes of John Cale and Leonard Cohen, and that’s just the North Americans; others might hear Lo’Jo and Radio Tarifa. Standouts include the eerie “U-Bahn,” the hilarious “Slick Senorita” and the charming title track. This is all about displacement, but without the drama of politics.
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