Review of Supernova – September 22nd, 2005
I hate the term “World Music”. I mean, what the hell does it mean? Yes, you can attempt to fuse different rhythms, but you can’t manage to fit every different beat into one sound. Usually, it seems to involve middle class university dropouts mixing Western melodies to Middle Eastern percussion and dropping some hippie claptrap lyrics over the top.
Rant over, because you’ll probably find this CD filed away somewhere as “World Music”. But, it is very nearly a fabulous fusion album. The San Diego based seven piece have chosen to mix their pop songs with Indian percussion, some Latin rhythms and some classic soul voices. Yes, the hippie claptrap is still there, but the songs are generally strong enough to carry it off.
There are some superb performances on the likes of ‘Show Me Love’, ‘Supernova’, ‘Real’ and Rhythm of Love’ (sadly not a Scorpions cover:-), and this is a highly recommended release for the Afro Celt Sound System fan in your orbit.
