RECOMMENDED
Multicultural music is what you get with Congolese-born Marie Daulne, best known as the founder and front woman of Zap Mama; the music the band makes draws from various influences without sticking to a single genre, surprising the listener at every corner, as heard on its new CD, “Supermoon” (Heads Up). Take, for instance, “Toma Taboo,” where the band borrows elements from Brazilian 1970s funk, emerging with a tune that sounds unique in its own way, while on “Hey Brotha,” the band takes on reggae and electronic elements for a playful tune on the nature of friendship. The title track blends folk-rock and soul in a song that doesn’t say much in terms of lyrical content but that has a certain catchy beat that gets the listener moving almost immediately; it is little wonder that this tune has been cleverly included on her live set during the tour. On a disc with so much experimentation, some duds are always likely; “Affection,” which has multi-layered vocals set over a percussive track, fails to excite, and the same goes with “Go Boy,” which suffers from a certain lack of focus in a jazz-meets-Africa arrangement. That doesn’t mar the experience as a whole, though. Just the mellow “Where Are You?” is worth the price of the CD alone, and the intriguingly complex “Moonray” will keep you coming back for more. (Ernest Barteldes)
Wednesday, October 24 at Martyrs
Related Stories
"Rumours" Has It: A Preview of "Say You Love Me" at Davenport's Cabaret The performers process arena-rock anthems through their own cabaret-honed sensibilities.- Match Set: A Preview of Tennis at Metro Moore and Riley have defined an identity that—while still built upon sounds and styles of decades past—now leans in a more timeless direction.
- Never Give Up: A Preview of Fantastic Negrito at Martyrs' When Fantastic Negrito emerged onto the music scene in 2015, he looked to all the world like a new, emerging artist. In fact the man born Xavier Dphrepaulezz—winner of that year’s Tiny Desk Contest for his song and video “Lost in a Crowd,” which showcase a sound that builds upon the blues, but didn’t conform to most people’s ideas about…
- Shock Value: A Preview of Last Fantastic Nasty at Quenchers I get the sense that Last Fantastic Nasty are still in that “figuring who we are” phase, where you’ve realized you can get attention by shocking people, but you start thinking long and hard about whether or not you want to. And they do have the musical chops to do well: the songs are metallic and complicated and compelling, even…
- Last Punks Standing: A Preview of Mekons at Hideout Mekons have endured by refusing to adhere to anyone's ideas regarding what is and isn't punk rock (which is in and of itself a defiantly punk attitude).
