Zap MamaSupermoon | Heads up  July 30,
2007 1:17:46 PM
|
Any similarities between Zap Mama 2007 and the group who bore that name in 1990 is purely coincidental. What started as an African-inspired, Belgium-based a cappella quintet is now Marie Daulne and an army of random musicians and guest vocalists. Perhaps that’s where Zap were always headed anyway — Daulne so dominated the group from the start that only the most loyal fan could have named any of the others. But as she’s assimilated into the R&B mainstream and shed nearly all trappings of Africana, she’s sacrificed her brand identity: Supermoon could have been cut by any diva with access to state-of-the-art studio tools and a budget. “Gati,” with its Carnival pulse and multiple rhythmic layers, does get a party started, and “Hey Brotha,” headlined by Michael Franti on vocal and guitar, projects a funky Sly Stone vibe. “Go Boy,” with Leon Pendarvis’s jazzy piano and stacks of vocals, hints at Zap Mama’s abandoned roots. But even ace sessioneers (pianist Robbie Kondor, trumpeter Michael Leonhart, bassist Tony Garnier) can’t inject life into the glossy “Where Are You,” one of the quieter, duller moments, and “Princess Kesia,” the closer, is so bogged down in its multi-tracked choral vocals and superfluous instrumentation, it cries out for a remix that subtracts rather than adds.
|
 |
|
- Comic timing
- Five things you'd better keep straight.
- The little Dutch boys who could
- Never mind its tough-girl alt-porn feminism: SuicideGirls has already moved on to a new generation
- Steve Albini speaks
- Red Sox songs that don't suck
- Kick him when he's down
- Lessons from the build-them-up, tear-them-down Boston firefighter backlash
- Steve Albini speaks
- Covering all the bases with first-class Albanian and more
- The real significance of hired guns in Iraq. Plus, combating Ann Coulter.
- PBRC’s Two Can Play finds a moving balance
|
-
Chrome Dreams II | Reprise
-
Washington Square Serenade | NewWest
-
MVD
-
Bruce Springsteen returns to the E Street Band
-
La Radiolina | Nacional/Because
-
Shout Factory!
-
The Bluegrass Sessions | McCoury Music | Working Man’s Journey | Cracker Barrel
-
Rhino resurrects the Doors’ Live in Boston 1970
-
Live in London: The BBC Recordings 1972-1973 | Water
|
- Jeff Beam’s solo debut passes Rock 101
- Vanguard
- Sloe Gin | J+R Adventures
- Chrome Dreams II | Reprise
- La Cucaracha | Rounder
- Proof of Youth | Sub Pop
- Afriki | Cumbancha
- Revival | Fantasy
- Join the Club | self-released
- Washington Square Serenade | NewWest
|
|
|
|