Antibalas- Security

Back again on the music scene with a new album on a new label. The nomadic New York ensemble Antibalas (Bulletproof) pull out the stops on their most interesting release to date. This album is less vocal but sometimes less is more. Opener “Beaten Metal” rides on a wave of clanging percussion as call and response horn arrangements usher in a variety of other elements. What you think is the rhythm ends up being upstaged by another element of the track that has it’s own. Every element of this track is riding it’s own wave and when it all seems to sound like discord it somehow comes together with the bass line. Do you follow the hand claps, the horns, the percussion, the rhodes? The tempo shifts on this track alone make it one of the more rewarding listens. Filibuster X kicks into high gear with swirling organs as Amayo’s vocals channel Fela Kuti contemplating the real meaning of the acronym G.O.P.(Greedy Old People,- Gasoline, Oil and Petroleum) to hilarious effect. Sanctuary mellows a bit but it’s soft bed of beats and chorus of brass prepare us for contemplative rhodes and xylophone. The album slows down to reggae proportions but that has always been the charm about Antibalas. They are a great embodiment of New York. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Influences range from Salsa, Afrobeat, Reggae, Hip Hop. This time around Antibalas have taken the strengths from previous releases and consolidated them all onto this aptly titled LP ‘Security’.