Consumer Guide Album

Azuka Moweta & Aniome Brothers Band: Nwanne Bu Ife [Palenque, 2023]
Moweta's not so much distinctive as felt and textured and arresting baritone is what sells his devotion to the Nigerian highlife variant dubbed ekobe, which enlists such Igbo percussion devices as long gong, woodblock, and it says here pot. Six tracks ranging between six and 16 minutes, all of which deliver soul, groove, and an emotional authority imbued with both faith and tenderness--none of which, I'm obliged to acknowledge, would necessarily be as convincing if I understood the words. A-