by Devon Chodzin (@bigugly)
In every region of entertainment media, organized crime perpetrated by mafia organizations is a source of fascination and drama. Between artifacts as widespread as The Godfather trilogy to pieces as subversive as the Wachowskis’ Bound to reality TV as quotable as Mob Wives, mafias present evocative backdrops for extraordinary stories. Watching narrative figures navigate strict hierarchies, observe storied traditions, and commit brazen acts of violence to defend their enterprises can get addictive. Just ask Turbo World’s Stephen Cooper (Cloud Becomes Your Hand, Guerilla Toss) – over a period of years, Cooper’s taken it upon himself to investigate the workings and depictions of mob families and their syndicates, brainstorming possible manifestations for a musical project. Mob stories also enthralled Stice’s Caroline Bennett; the collision of interests between Cooper and Bennett felt meant to be. When Cooper discovered an extensive interview with mafia hitman Max Kurschner, inspiration struck almost divinely – thus My Challenger, a prog-opera depicting Kurschner’s hazardous life, came to fruition.
Throughout My Challenger, playful – at times downright carnivalesque – keys embark on highly experimental but still catchy rhythmic endeavors. The end result creates an animated soundscape on which Cooper and Bennett can vocalize with sufficient whimsy to keep the intense subject matter accessible. Songs like album opener “20k,” whose title comes from the base price of a mob assassination, and subsequent tracks “Cards” almost sound like Super Mario on SNES. “Mambo 62” presents a glorious opportunity to dance while Bennett and Cooper recount rival thieves engaging in some competition. “Greek Vases” is a gooier track, with Caroline’s voice swinging over dreamy keystrokes and the record’s most prominent drumming. While ever-so-slightly downtempo from many of the record’s frenetic pieces, the song still retains just as much fun.
“My Word” presents unsettling vocal distortion as the singer calls out to the subject - “hey / hi kid / hey / hi kid / how / are / you” before moving into the essential covenant of mob work: “my / word / is / my / bond / my word / figure / it out kid / my bond / my word.” Without that trust, or potential for treachery, the stakes aren’t as compelling in a mob narrative. The title track is unendingly groovy, with layered keyboard lines bouncing around like synchronized swimmers, all while Bennett brings the listener along international drug-runs and distribution back home. Everything is carefully orchestrated, not unlike the precarious business operations of the subject syndicates.
Haunting tracks like “Shylocking” revolve around the high-risk lending shared between mafia networks. Running an enterprise like this is like walking a tightrope over a canyon – when you win, you win big, but when you lose, it’s guaranteed to be catastrophic. Album closer “Talk Traitor” is especially guitar-driven, with an intensity and vague hushedness that instills fear. Who’s about to get found out? What’s about to happen to the subject? Who’s betraying whom? Ultimately, it’s hard to know – the prog-opera is over by this point. As a project, My Challenger is musically whimsical, with unpredictable, evocative structures, somewhere in between a psilocybin trip and a Broadway tune. Turbo World makes the mafia sound a little less frightening, a little more accessible, but never treats the mafia like a plaything – ultimately, their fascination, reverence, and even fear is palpable through the arrangements. It’s a project unlike any other in so many ways and is incontrovertible fun.