Waveriders, this is a highly enjoyable album! I strongly recommend that you take these tunes for a spin! If you’re looking for some good-time, smile-producing, party-facilitating music this is the album for you! Right, my recommendation is out of the way right off the bat. Now, let me get something off my chest.
It has been a good while since I’ve listened to something and failed to see the connection between the music I’m hearing and the groups/artists listed by the band (or their promotional material) as their direct inspiration/influence. Zangoma is that musical puzzle for me. I listen to this music and I hear sounds that strongly evoke alternative rock groups I listened to in the 1990s. Not grunge. Alternative rock.
Zangoma describes their music as Zamrock, a genre I had not heard of until reading this band’s bio. I do hear the fusion of African music with psychedelic and garage rock. That comes through loud and clear. The sentence following that description on their bandcamp page however, is what I’ve been mulling over. Here it is. “Bands like Black Sabbath, Funkadelic, The Rolling Stones, Blue Cheer, Cream and Deep Purple had a major part in shaping the music.”
Perhaps I’m alone in this. I don’t hear Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Cream or Deep Purple at all. I barely hear Funkadelic and The Rolling Stones. I’ve listened to this album several times now. I’ve attempted to attune my ears to identify those influences…and I just can’t do it. Is that really a problem? No, no it isn’t. This album is terrific!
Take a listen yourself waveriders and trace the influences if you can. I bet you’ll like what you hear!
-Penfold
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