Tony Allen is back and has a new album out this summer. The man known best for the distinctive stuttering drums that drove Mr. 'Death in my Pocket' Kuti should need no introduction. The first single immediately engages with its refresh of the horn riff from his 1975 track Jealousy. It has all the ingredients you'd expect and want and, despite his huskily understated protest lyrics, there's an airy bright feel about it. It sounds a little like he's been artificially constrained into a verse chorus structure and not been allowed to let the instrumental groove stretch out (it's under six minutes rather than over 10 as you might have expected from his earlier recordings) - maybe that's the influence of Damon Albarn - but it probably makes it more accessible. Anyway you can check it out
here.
