The
Fontanelles – Horns Of Freedom (First Word)
LP/CD/DL
Out Now
Afrobeat
fusion band, The Fontanelles unleash their debut album.
Ever
wondered what a PigBag/James Brown/Los Chinches supergroup would sound
like? No, me neither, but if you ever do
find yourself awake at night pondering the thought, then give The Fontanelles a listen and your curiosity will be quenched.
Formed to be
the backing band for Fela! The Musical when it was on its London stint, the
ten-piece decided that their relationship and natural chemistry demanded that
they stay together and carry on performing – thankfully.
The
Fontanelles have certainly created a great sound, mixing ska, jazz and reggae
with an afrobeat base. The energy is
high and the musicianship is superb.
Album
opener, Gaia’s Revenge, blasts the album straight into view with its clear jazz
influences, and the horns which are obviously prevalent on the album are
powerful and precise. Afrocat has dub
touches and again keeps up the pace as the title is announced throughout.
Recent
single, Criminality, brings in American funk influences and again the horn
sound and instrumentation is frenetic.
To see The Fontanelles live must be an experience to behold.
The tempo
slows down for The Wave and Project 31
to a sleepy groove before being picked up again for the title track which
closes the album.
It’s nice to
hear a non-vocal album that doesn’t get boring at some point, in fact ‘Horns Of
Freedom’ is quite the opposite as it remains interesting the engaging to the
end. If there’s a downside, then it’s
that there are only eight tracks here, but given the quality on show it’s an
inconsequential fact that’s quite easily overlooked.
8.5/10
Links
Published on
Louder Than War 21/11/13 - here
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