I assure you, I can stop listening to this CD any time I want, I just don’t want to stop right now…

Besides addictive and intoxicating, El Olio Wolof’s sound is exceedingly difficult to classify. Their web site refers to them as Classical/Garage/Folk Rock. A friend of mine calls them a post-modern, eclectic folk band. To me, this Merced-based band’s distinctive music sounds like what you’d hear while dreamily riding on a merry-go-round built and operated by Tim Burton. El Olio Wolof’s storybook-like lyrics, sung by several of the guys and gals in the band, are backed by entwining drums and other assorted percussion, keyboard (sounding sometimes like a marimba, sometimes like bells), electric bass, and acoustic guitar (they’ve added an accordion to their live performances). It truly makes for an enchanting listen.

Songs on El Olio Wolof’s CD, “El Subconscious Celestine Olio Wolof,” include “Earthworms Can’t Dig This,” “Dirty Dishwater,” “The Very Humble Bumblebee,” “A Tale of Herbert the Giant,” “Bebe Ogieau,” “Brontosauri,” and “An Angel Flower.” The songs are mildly mellow, but with the variations within the songs and the balance of instruments and voices, the songs definitely don’t drag. The beginning of “Earthworms Can’t Dig This” sounds almost like something you’d hear from a Shakespearean madrigal, but then the song completely changes with jazz-influenced drums against a heavy zombie-like waltz. The music of “The Very Humble Bumblebee” transports us to the journey of the insect, and we hear the story of bees flying together and talking “about their families and how they spend their entire lives working for a queen that would let them die with just one sting.”

As fantastic as their CD is, their energy shines through best during their live performances. It’s an understatement to say that each of the band members is totally into their performance. There’s great communication between them, too. It’s really hard to sit still while watching and listening to them play. You can purchase their CD at their performances. For a list of their performance dates, see their website (http://www.myspace.com/eloliowolof and http://www.greytank.com/eloliowolof.htm). Their CD is also available at http://www.milesofmusic.com/.I assure you, I can stop listening to this CD any time I want, I just don’t want to stop right now…

Besides addictive and intoxicating, El Olio Wolof’s sound is exceedingly difficult to classify. Their web site refers to them as Classical/Garage/Folk Rock. A friend of mine calls them a post-modern, eclectic folk band. To me, this Merced-based band’s distinctive music sounds like what you’d hear while dreamily riding on a merry-go-round built and operated by Tim Burton. El Olio Wolof’s storybook-like lyrics, sung by several of the guys and gals in the band, are backed by entwining drums and other assorted percussion, keyboard (sounding sometimes like a marimba, sometimes like bells), electric bass, and acoustic guitar (they’ve added an accordion to their live performances). It truly makes for an enchanting listen.

Songs on El Olio Wolof’s CD, “El Subconscious Celestine Olio Wolof,” include “Earthworms Can’t Dig This,” “Dirty Dishwater,” “The Very Humble Bumblebee,” “A Tale of Herbert the Giant,” “Bebe Ogieau,” “Brontosauri,” and “An Angel Flower.” The songs are mildly mellow, but with the variations within the songs and the balance of instruments and voices, the songs definitely don’t drag. The beginning of “Earthworms Can’t Dig This” sounds almost like something you’d hear from a Shakespearean madrigal, but then the song completely changes with jazz-influenced drums against a heavy zombie-like waltz. The music of “The Very Humble Bumblebee” transports us to the journey of the insect, and we hear the story of bees flying together and talking “about their families and how they spend their entire lives working for a queen that would let them die with just one sting.”

As fantastic as their CD is, their energy shines through best during their live performances. It’s an understatement to say that each of the band members is totally into their performance. There’s great communication between them, too. It’s really hard to sit still while watching and listening to them play. You can purchase their CD at their performances. For a list of their performance dates, see their website (http://www.myspace.com/eloliowolof and http://www.greytank.com/eloliowolof.htm). Their CD is also available at http://www.milesofmusic.com/.