Mangoseed - Basquiat (Self-Released)

Hailing from South London, Mangoseed are an alternative-reggae four piece releasing their new album Basquiat. It’s a spiritually and politically charged record, infused with an unparalleled energy courtesy of lead singer Nicholai La Barrie’s poetic delivery verging on hip-hop. The single, “Brix-tone”, which “tells the story of the multicultural melting pot of Brixton” is best indicative of the entire album: stylistically diverse, and intelligent while remaining clearly emotional.

The album title is an obvious reference to Jean-Michel Basquiat, a clear influence upon the band not only in terms of an alignment in politics and social commentary, but largely out of seeing their art form as a means for expansion and experimentation. In the words of the artist, “The album is inspired by… his focus on suggestive dichotomies and rebellious ability to use any influence in his work…. We have pulled form all the genres that we love, all the artists and bands that have inspired us.”

So, while their backbone is reggae, there are elements of punk, noise, experimental, and hip-hop as well. The more punk influences work perfectly to their advantage, because their lyrics are so upfront and unrestrained, something would have been lost with pure reggae. These aggressive elements create some of the most powerful moments on the album, such as the rapid chanting of “I hear them” repeatedly towards the end of “Careful”.

It’s a solidly constructed record for the most part, except for the few random minute-long songs that sound incomplete, spontaneous, and as if they were recorded in a practice space with a single microphone. They’re interesting, but there’s not much need for them here, other than to fill out the album’s length, and I’d rather have a shorter album with a more coherent flow. It’s still an album with more intelligence, range, and heart than most in the genre today, and definitely worth delving into. Basquiat will be released May 22nd.