Antibalas Security
No recording can truly capture Antibalas’ soul. One must see them in the flesh, and […]
No recording can truly capture Antibalas’ soul. One must see them in the flesh, and struggle to dance in an overcrowded room, to really grasp it. With Security, the NYC orchestra takes a sharp turn, one that it may offend some Afrobeat purists. Actually, they sometimes seem to be more bent on entertaining vacationers at the Abuja Hilton than inciting revolution. (Witness the kitschy organ melodies that smile too long on “Hilo” and “Age.”) However, Antibalas’ lost grit is otherwise compensated for by grooves that are steady and alive enough to last all night. It needs more woodblock, though.