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Especially when the music is as funky hot as Lafayette Afro-Rock Band and with Anthony Joseph poetry, you’re getting close to a modern day equivalent - but even better!

Perhaps ‘better’ is not quite the right phrase; refined sounds a bit too posh for a rough upfunk band but it’s probably what they are. I mean Anthony Joseph is poet -but not that kind of Motion poet - this guys sings Afro-cosmic-centric street spiritualist “drum rhythm symposium” (‘Robberman’).

If this is the first you’ve heard of AJTSB you’re in for a treat. And if you loved Leggo De Lion you’re in for an even bigger treat as this band has got funkier with the addition of Joseph Bowie (he of Defunkt) and jazzier (with David Neerman on vibes - annoyingly too sparsely used) and Afro (with Keziah Jones who featured on Amadou & Mariam’s Welcome To Mali, Bugs In The Attic’s classic ‘Zombie’ and his own track on Osunlade’s The Yoruba Soul Mixes album to mention just three of his past glories).
If you heard ‘River Of Masks’ on Simone Vimercati’s ‘Jazz It Up’ last week, you’ll know what I’m talking about. With echoes of space-time experiments in jazz-funk no-wave (respect Teenage Jesus & The Jerks to James Blood Ulmer; ‘Are You Glad To Be In America?’)

The album crams in loads of stand-out tracks for us thinkers and groovers; soul-struttin’ down the left side of Nu-Orleans side street with a go-go in the air, ‘Conductors Of His Mystery’ (the one with the vibes) that gently blows up with horn arrangements and rock guitar solo (provided by the band’s guitarist, Adrian ‘The Heliocentrics & The Soul Destroyers’ Owusu). The spawn of Roy Ayres into mellow hardcore jazz-funk

With Joseph centre stage vocally, [my father] “came back smelling of the sea”, the band is seriously percussive featuring Paul Zimmerman, Paul Brett and Craig ‘Cigar’ Tamlin’. On the bass, Andrew John is as impressive in his simplicity like on ‘His Hands’ and ‘Two Inch Limbo’ (a track that Colin Webster stretches and screws his sax solo - hey why the fade-out guys?) or the magnificent 12 minutes of ‘Jungle’ that’s sort of them doing a Temptations - blimey this is so good with as batacuda comes to the concrete jungle carnival (with a touch of cuica for good measure).

Webster also features on flute on quite a few tracks like the carib-flava of ‘Cutless’ and the mighty ‘His Hands’ (along with Neerman) but Bowie’s ‘bone is eerily dominant whilst often under-played; but not on ‘Cutlass’ that gets proper funky free jazz. - “do you ever see cutlass mark in water?”

Every time I listen to this album I think each track is my new favourite track which is always a good sign on a great album. Bin Head Son in total is just awesome example of what this collection of musicians are all about but if you’re after one single track, the voodoo-nyabingi-beat poet freestyle of title track would be my choice (at the moment).

Having recently supported Fat Freddy’s Drop and Seun Kuti and Egypt ‘80 there’s a big buzz about this lot so check out myspace, get the album and book leave for the launch party at Cargo on 5th March (part of the Serious East Festival).

Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band are magnificent and Bird Head Son is where pathways meet; there won’t be many better albums this year so highly recommended.

Reviewed: Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band - Bird Head Son (Naive) Cat. No.: NV816371 Release date: 9th Febraury 2009
Notes: Produced by Antoine Rajon for Heavenly Sweetness under licence to Naïve - recorded at Studio de Meudon, France
Tracklisting:
1 Vero (6:14)
2 Blues For Cousin Alvin (4:55)
3 The Bamboo Saxophone (3:29)
4 Jungle (12:04)
5 Bird Head Son (8:40)
6 Cutless (6:21)
7 His Hands (5:19)
8 Two Inch Limbo (6:21)
9 Conductors Of His Mystery (7:31)
10 Rivers Of Masks (4:51)
11 Robberman (3:28)
12 Dream On Corbeau Mountain (4:46)

Links:
www.anthonyjoseph.co.uk
www.myspace.com/adjoseph
Wallerfield is an in Trinidad and Tobago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallerfield
The African Origins of UFOs
www.myspace.com/heavenlysweetness
www.myspace.com/keziahjones
www.myspace.com/jamesbloodulmer