A smashing selection of rock and reggae sounds to see you through to the end of summer.
The Flaming Lips
Embryonic (Gallo)
Fearless and fantastic, the Lips must be one of the few remaining bands from the American indie-hardcore scene that spawned them that consistently strive for originality and truly challenging music. No surprise then that their 12th studio album, Embryonic, sees the band ditching their more recent existentialist synth-pop songs and replacing them with a sprawling psychedelic masterpiece. Some have called Embryonic a return to their noisier roots, but for my money the Lips have never sounded quite like this before. Groundbreaking it is indeed, which, for a 27-year-old band, is quite a feat. From the opening squawk of Convinced of the Hex, Embryonic settles into a swirling space odyssey, what front-man Wayne Coyne calls a “freak-out vibe”. Referencing influences such as Silver Apples, Joy Division and Neu!, the double album comes together like the soundtrack to an acid trip in an apocalyptic future. It is both beautiful and disturbing and you can’t really ask for much more than that. — Lloyd Gedye
Scary Mansion
Make Me Cry (Kurse)
This is the second album from Scary Mansion, headed by singer-songwriter-cum-illustrator Leah Heynes. Having never heard of Scary Mansion, it was a good thing that I received both albums at once for a quick education in what I can only term as folk gone goth-grunge. If the Be Good Tanya’s bred with the Pixie’s, blending twang with industrial distortion, you might well end up with Scary Mansion. And, as unlikely as that combination sounds, it works. Heynes sounds like she draws. There is a good deal of complexity and dark detail in the music, which contrasts with the simplicity and fragility at the edges, carried mostly by her soft voice. It’s unusual, seductive and a pleasure. But be warned — it is not happy. — Lynley Donnelly
Jimi Tenor and Tony Allen
Inspiration Information 4 (Kurse)
Strut Records’s Inspiration Information series has produced some gems of late, most notably last year’s collaboration between Ethiopian jazz star Mulatu Astatke and the London psych-jazz outfit the Heliocentrics. The concept is simple: team a musician up with one of their musical heroes in studio and wait and see what happens. This time Finnish maverick Jimi Tenor meets up with legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen and the results are magnificent. From the hypnotic reggae-tinged Afropop of Selfish Gene to the funky Afrobeat-fuelled booty-call that is Against the Wall, these two legends are clearly enjoying the freedom created by this collaboration. Strut has stumbled on to a winning formula here, so track this album down and lock into its fusion grooves. — Lloyd Gedye
Radio Kalahari Orkes
Heuningland (Rhythm Records)
Ian Roberts’ and Rian Malan’s brainchild Radio Kalahari Orkes is fun from the first moment the kinky boere-folk assaults your senses. This is unique Afrikaans music that is totally different from the usual gemors. And the fun doesn’t let up as the duo invites one friend after another to spread the joy. It is quite useful that the friends are great musicians as well. Chris Chameleon gets the party going in the opening anthem, Staan by My, and by anthem don’t expect De La Rey and Bok van Blerk. Country stalwart Jim Neversink and blues brother Valiant Swart also turn a tune on the CD. Even actor Frank Opperman adds his two cents. An absolute favourite is boere rapper Jack Parow, who gives a few lines on Blaas Jou Vuvuzela. The opening lines of the song, which translate into: “‘Tell me baby before I French kiss you / can you make braai broodjies?'”, pretty much describe the spirit of the album. And if you don’t know what “braai broodjies” are, then maybe Heuningland is not really your cup of polisiekoffie. — Yolandi Groenewald
Beres Hammond
Something Old, Something New (Penthouse)
Reggae singer Beres Hammond’s latest album really is a mixture of the old and new, an encounter of young and old. Hammond, who started recording in the 1970s, perhaps boasts the most melodious voice in modern reggae. The CD includes old classics such as Warriors Don’t Cry, which has been redone with Assassin, one of dancehall music’s biggest names. The slow-brewed Live On has been infused with a little bit of speed and feminine energy with the presence of Queen Ifrica, another of dancehall’s recent treasures. Hammond also features Buju Banton, his accustomed dancehall co-conspirator, on I’m Gonna Do My Best and Love in the Streets, a song also featuring Assassin and I-Octane. Cutty Ranks, one of the better-known DJs of the 1990s, has been dragged back into the limelight with the song Love Mi Haffi Get. A little dose of nationalism is never amiss in a retrospective album of this kind and thus the CD carries the song African, a track that also features Queen Ifrica, Louie Culture, Gramps Morgan and others. Something Old, Something New is a melodious record about the passage of time and the changes that have happened in reggae music. — Percy Zvomuya
Queen Ifrica
Montego Bay (VP)
In Queen Ifrica the reggae world has found new royalty. Singer-DJ (singjay) Queen Ifrica was born Ventrice Morgan, into the arms of reggae great Derrick Morgan. She was discovered by Patrick Barrett, better known to dancehall fans as Tony Rebel in the late 1990s. She came to the world’s attention in 2007 with her debut album Fyah Muma. Her latest offering, Montego Bay, came out last year to critical and popular applause. The infectious 13-track CD is varied (she even does one song in Spanish); most of the tracks mix staunch feminism and social commentary with lyrical inventiveness, borne by her melodic singing and chanting. The track Lioness on the Rise typifies her ascent in the past few years. Other tracks to look out for include Daddy, about a sexually abusive father, Keep It to Yourself, a call against “slackness” and the “badman”, and Welcome to Montego Bay, with lyrics you wouldn’t see in a tourist brochure. She rails against the poverty of the slums that sit uneasily alongside the luxurious hotels that cater for the tourists. Montego Bay is an accomplished, often beautiful album. — Percy Zvomuya
Julian Marley
Awake (Universal)
Marley’s third album is based on the old-school template that his brothers, Stephen and Damien, made famous. Produced by his brother, Stephen, the album feels a bit like Damien’s seminal Welcome to Jamrock. It has a laid-back, rock-steady feel, a resonant hip-hop/R&B timbre and a rather slow, measured approach to chanting that is reminiscent of early 1990s dancehall. There’s nothing of the “slackness” lyrics that were prevalent then; instead we have singalong melodies boasting thought-out lyrics on societal ills and universal subjects like religion and love. The CD is much closer to mainstream American music than to Marley’s Caribbean ancestry, but it works incredibly well. Julian is indeed his father’s son. — Percy Zvomuya