Like some futuristic imagined nightmare of 23rd century slavery, the debut album from Algiers bridges old time gospel music, protest songs. blues, soul and sampling to create an ominous, brooding vision of what we might become. The twin pinnacles of Franklin James Fisher's soaring vocals and Lee Tesche's scything guitar are underpinned by a deep, rumbling bass from Ryan Mahan. Together they combine with an almost religious fervour, provoking your feet to move and your brain to think at the same time.
It reminds me a bit of Young Fathers in terms of attitude and power (imagine them making a sequel to Moby's 'Play' and you'll get a sense of what this sounds like) - it's not often that a record comes at you with such intensity that you feel pinned back into your seat and forced to listen to it, but that's what happens here.
To pick out any one track is to do the others a disservice - 'Blood' is probably the most immediate, and 'Black Eunuch' is the track I first heard that drew me to the album, but it's very much a record that should be listened to as a whole so you can soak up the atmosphere - it's like being transported to the deep South, you can feel the heat and sense the simmering tensions.
If you can't find something in this record to interest you then you probably shouldn't be reading this blog - it spans so many genres that unless you listen to black metal 24 hours a day you'll find it worth hearing. Buy it now!
Algiers - "Blood" from Algiers on Vimeo.
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