Bedouin Soundclash – MASS

Bedouin Soundclash’s fifth studio album and first with Easy Star was crafted in the heart of New Orleans. Coproduced by Philadelphia House DJ King Brit, MASS brings in collaborators ranging from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Mike Dillon (Les Claypool) to Chuck Treece (Bad Brains) and Vancouver’s St. James Music Academy Children’s Choir.

From the jangling Big Band swing-pop of “Clock-work,” the post-punk-soca of “Salt-Water,” the New Orleans second-line inspired “Full Bloom,” the apocalyptic Brian Wilson-esque “Born Into Bad Times,” the Talking Heads-channeling of “When We’re Gone,” and the dubbing afro-pop gospel of “Holy” that features Mike Dillon distorting his marimbas into another sonic dimension, MASS shows not only the eclectic post-punk-world-beat tendencies of Bedouin Soundclash but also the city that surrounded them.