by Wanda Waterman St. Louis: Click here to read original article
Andy and Ariana: Seeking Commotion (2010)
“My two favorite mad geniuses (formerly known as T@b; read the Voice interview with singer Andy Flinn here) have done it again, putting out one more song set that’s so deliciously good it keeps their feet steady on that uphill creative trajectory.
The lyrics of “Sakini Maikhana” (a brilliantly poetic meditation on illusory freedom) were written by Ariana’s dad, Amin, in Dari, an Afghan dialect of Persian. The rest of the songs were penned mostly by Andy, and the arrangements, served up by a group of superlatively inventive musicians, are a great mix of more genres and styles than you can shake a bow at (including Celtic, folk, bluegrass, country, gypsy jazz, ragtime, calypso, and Middle Eastern), layered over Andy and Ariana’s unique brand of polyrhythmic jazz.
This is an exuberant album: intelligent but lively, and socially conscious but without taking itself too seriously.”