new music: stream sinkane’s masterpiece ‘life & livin it’ #soundcheck

Sinkane’s been a favorite around here since his stint in Yeasayer. His previous solo effort, Mean Love was a taught electro-soul outing. But on his latest, the child of Sudanese refugees looks back to the music he was raised on, injecting Life & Livin It with traces of high life, Afrobeat, and Tuareg melodies. The result is an album that David Byrne could only ever have dreamed of making. The 8-bit synths opening “Deadweight” lead into a bluesy jam, while Sinkane’s effortless falsetto sing out existential despair and modern disconnection “sometimes I am not my body / I’m just the thoughts that cloud my head.” Elsewhere, the album is imbued with an infectious optimism, as on standout “U’Huh.” Songs like “Telephone” marry Sinkane’s thoughtful arrangements with a tragically rare irresistible songcraft. The album closes out with the impressive call for connection in “Show Me The Way.” It takes courage these days to point a way forward, but it takes strength to ask for directions. On Life & Livin It, Sinkane shows both in abundance. It doesn’t hurt that the music is tight either.

Photography © Ed Andrews

Stream the whole record via NPR.

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