Journey Through Time

On the one hand it's perhaps difficult to see quite why the world needs another Afrobeat band, replicating the 1970s experiments of Nigeria and Ghana. Formed in Australia in 2008, the Shaolin Afronauts claim inspiration from avant-garde jazz artists, as well as their West African counterparts. A bit more of the former might have just highlighted their differences against other contemporary groups treading similar musical paths. This is possibly over-critical, as their grooves are tight and the playing consistent throughout, particularly during the more contemplative numbers like ‘The Scarab’ and ‘Rise With The Blind’. The latter is definitely one of the album's highlights, hung loosely around a melancholic brass riff, juxtaposed with a taught rhythm guitar motif. Similarly, the arrangement of the title-track affords the band the chance to stretch out, and the loose guitar playing and brass solos allow the groove to soar.

There are similar moments in ‘The Quiet Lion’ and ‘Shira’, though the funk grooves and reverberating brass lines are perhaps less arresting than they might be. We have come to expect these climaxes from bands taking their cue from this era of African music. The production approach strikes the correct note, and you get the impression that the band's most conducive arena is the stage rather than the studio. The band set out their stall competently over eight tracks, sometimes with flashes of excellence: this is a solid bedrock of ideas that could see Shaolin Afronauts transcending these perimeters, should they choose to.