Shabaka & the Ancestors - We Are Sent Here By History (Review)
Ominous tones and a variety of intriguing themes? Sign me up!
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13th March 2020
UMG
My Rating:
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8.6
/10
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REVIEW
An album that's as moving as it is complex, Shabaka and the Ancestors take it upon themselves to flex their superiority over their peers and create the most ominous jazz album I've heard in 2020.
With so many excellent jazz releases over the course of the year, it's become something of a challenge for an album to stick out from countless impressive experimental and fusion records. Perhaps what's most impressive about We Are Sent Here By History is just how dissimilar it is to those albums, both in its lack of off-the-wall experimentation and the wild, ambitious fusion that characterised something like Jeff Parker's Suite For Max Brown. No, this isn't in the same ballpark as that when it comes to ambition, but you'll find the reason for that is that Shabaka and the Ancestors are playing a whole different sport, the music's influences being deeply rooted in African culture and spirituality, whilst their lyrics deal with masculinity, vulnerability and emotion. Hefty topics that I'd say more than make up for the lack of instrumental ambition.
What's perhaps most rewarding is how refined the ideas are, all whilst in the context of the raw and open instrumentals, ranging from the mourning and thoughtful "Teach Me How To Be Vulnerable" to the more chaotic polyrhythms of "Run, the Darkness Will Pass". These songs couldn't be more tonally opposite, and yet the variation here is what makes for such a rewarding listening experience, and one that feels like a journey from beginning to end, satisfyingly with no detours. I couldn't be more impressed by the performances, nor with the perfect encapsulation of the eerie yet mood-shifting atmosphere. It is clear that Shabaka and the Ancestors are a masters at their game, and they're playing it better than anyone else right now.
TRACK RATINGS (/10)
1. They Who Must Die - 8
2. You've Been Called - 8
3. Go My Heart, Go To Heaven - 9
4. Behold, The Deceiver - 8
5. Run, The Darkness Will Pass - 8
6. The Coming Of The Strange Ones - 9
7. Beasts Too Spoke Of Suffering - 8
8. Will We Work (On Redefining Manhood) - 8
9. 'Til The Freedom Comes Home - 9
10. Finally, the Man Cried - 9
11. Teach Me How To Be Vulnerable - 8
BREAKDOWN
Ambition: 7
Atmosphere: 10
Catchiness/Enjoyability: 8
Content/Ideas: 8
Emotion/Engaging: 9
Execution: 8
Production: 9
Structure: 9
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Aesthetic: 9
Arrangements: 9
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Total: 86
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