We review two new releases.
AKRON/FAMILY: S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT (Dead Oceans)
Akron/Family has to be one of the most underrated bands in the world. Their previous album Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free was a monster record that few managed to better in 2009, but it didn’t get the recognition it deserved. Offering up intimate pastoral folk one moment and thrashing hardcore punk the next, Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free was a true delight. The band’s 2011 follow-up is once again a mesmerising piece of work and adventurous listeners will find much to love. Opening with a punchy psychedelic track, with searing guitar work and gorgeous harmonies, its new offering S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT finds Akron/Family often inhabiting a space similar to New York pioneers Animal Collective (Silly Bears, Light Emerges).
But in typical Akron/Family fashion there are always a few curve balls. That’s what you should expect from these freak-folk psychedelic pioneers. The album’s beginnings can be traced back to a cabin built on the side of an active volcano in Akan National Park in Hokkaido, Japan. It was recorded in an abandoned train station in Detroit. Whatever the back story, you can’t deny the fact that Silly Bears, A AAA O A WAY, So It Goes and Fuji I (Global Dub) are among the best songs recorded by Akron/Family, making their new album potentially their best yet. Hopefully, this time the album will get the love it so richly deserves. — Lloyd Gedye
BUJU BANTON: Before the Dawn (Gargamel)
Before the Dawn, Buju ÂBanton’s ninth studio album, is a Grammy winner for best reggae album. The album is intensely personal and lit up by biblical imagery. Banton contemplates 20 years in prison after a recent conviction on drug-related offences. He has appealed. The album is a personal journey in which he examines issues such as bondage, betrayal and God. Both slow and fast-paced, its mood oscillating between sombre and rhapsodic, it’s far from Banton’s dance-hall roots. His sound is brassy at times (as on Bondage), surrounded by
a rocky ambience, or just plain roots reggae (as on Innocent). The album begins with the bouncing and impassioned Rasta Can’t Go, something of a dance-hall favourite.
On No Smoking at All, Banton takes away the bass and electrifies the sound, to come up with a feisty, rocking song. Another highlight is Try Life, whose acoustic ambience allows Gramps Morgan (from the Morgan Family Heritage) and Banton
to reflect on life. Lovely CD. — Percy Zvomuya