Sons of Kemet – Your Queen is a Reptile
This unique four piece out of the UK, consists of two drummers, a saxophonist and a tuba player (tubist?) serving up jazz with strong African and Caribbean roots. Each song is dedicated to a different female queen, and I quite enjoyed looking up each one and learning some history. For example, Nanny of the Maroons, who lead the Windward Maroons in 18th century Jamaica in a rebellion against British Colonizers.
The album’s got some very danceable rhythms that had me moving along at times, while Poet Josh Idehen’s intense and moving verses on ‘My Queen is Ada Eastman’ and ‘My Queen is Doreen Lawrence’ explore themes of colonial oppression and resilience. Needless to say, there is a lot to unpack in this album, and if you’re interested in something completely different, you can’t go wrong here.
PEOPLEVIOLENCE – THE CROSSES THAT I CARRY
PEOPLEVIOLENCE just dropped this tasty debut EP, The Crosses That I Carry. Both tracks combine punk, emo and alternative sounds excellently into some very catchy and juicy tracks. There’s a contagious energy to these songs that will have you singing along.
Also their new EP, On The Spot, releases May 10th!
Clever Girl – No Drum and Bass in the Jazz Room
Not a lot is really known about Clever Girl. My research came up empty on the information front, apart from a few old forum posts of fans waxing their total adoration for the music and venting frustrations at the lack of any information online on possible new music. The band appears to be a university passion project, and I can only imagine the members just moved on to other things after graduation.
I would describe Clever Girl as jazzy, melodic math rock with a somehow wholesome feeling to it. They appear to be highly regarded in the Math Rock community, but the bright jazzy tones throughout definitely make them an easy and enjoyable listen for any music fan. The album has a triumphantly uplifting quality to its sound that makes it especially rewarding to listen to after a challenging day. It’s sort of like, relaxing music for when you don’t want to be too calm and fall asleep.