Conflict Nkru!

On Conflict Nkru! Ebo Taylor perfectly weaves together the different strands that make his music so enveloping and warm: the beautifully swinging horns, the layered, simmering rhythm section, and his own jazzy guitar and keys. Though the mood is upbeat, the lyrics go deep, dealing with love, death, and religion. After the cheerful opener “You Need Love” things get a little darker on  “Love and Death”, with his backing singers harmonizing “Love and death/walk hand in hand/The way to the grave/is just the same,” leaving more than enough space for a jazz-funk instrumental to unfold. He asks the life-old question on the next track, “What is Life?,” accompanied by an urgent flute, which  reappears, albeit in eeries tones, on the ominous “Christ Will Come.” Ending on a positive note, “Victory” again combines the band’s incredibly tight horn section with a deep groove, offering a new interpretation of a traditional Asafo song. Over the whole album Taylor balances joy and sorrow, often in the space of the same song.