Founded in the mid-’90s Traband started with a punk “no future” attitude with brass and banjos in the mix. As time went on founder Jarda Svoboda’s fascination with circuses 19th-century seafaring stowaways and other colorful characters led to the band appearing in the costumes of the people they were singing about. Coming out of a 12-month hiatus during which time Svoboda did social work with the homeless the band has returned with a new sound that includes foot-pumped harmoniums Eastern-leaning vocal harmonies and occasional splashes of strident post-punk drums. At first fans and critics alike flinched on hearing the banjos and brass stripped away. But nearly a year later the catchy single from this disc Tak to mám rád (That’s the way I like it) is still getting nearly daily airplay on local radio stations. The rest of the CD has no shortage of charm and the packaging includes a beautiful bi-lingual Czech/English book of lyrics and illustrations. —Jónsson

http://www.praguepost.com/articles/2007/12/26/high-notes.php