Rating: NNN
The main problem with most Afrobeat revivalist bands is that they’re trying too hard to be something they’re not.
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It’s hard not to question the artistic honesty of musicians earnestly trying to imitate a genre from another era and culture, no matter how well they might succeed at simulating it.
This is exactly where Toronto’s Mr. Something Something come in. Sure, they’ve got that basic Fela Kuti groove down, but instead of being led by some white dude doing a Nigerian accent, they’ve got a proudly Swedish frontman whose smooth soul-pop crooning adds an entirely different flavour to the mix and a band as much influenced by American jazz as African funk.
The earnest hippy politics in the lyrics might go over the line in places, but you have to expect a bit of that from a band who’ve built a bicycle-powered sound system (which even cynics have to admit is kind of neat).
Top track: Why Why Why
Mr. Something Something get their groove on Wednesday (June 3) at Supermarket.