Consumer Guide Album

Bokoor Beats [Otrabanda, 2007]
A white African whose father taught philosophy at the University of Ghana, John Collins named the ever-shifting Bokoor Band and the always-open Bokoor Studio after the Twi word for coolness, but the nonchalance he nurtures is much more congenial than anything American hipsters associate with that idea. These eight songs in Ga and English by Bokoor (there are also four by allied bands) were worked into surefire danceability on a picaresque touring schedule--Collins has stories to tell. But they're not tight--even the soukous numbers shamble. And if you never figured out what "Afro-rock" might be, Bokoor will make it clearer than any Afro-funk comp you've ever tried to love. A-