The debut album from this Staten Island soul group. The Budos Band sound is definitely leaning towards West African funk, but they do it with an emphasis on the funk more than the African. So there's no overt Fela tributes here or watered-down aping of "that sound," just tight instrumentals splashed with those synchronized low-tone horn blasts, clear rhythm guitar, and organ drones of death. Tracks range from the super mellow stuff like "Ghost Walk(1)" (I like this style best) to horn jump-ups like "The Budos Theme(2)" with most of it falling right in the middle. Their first single for Daptone had two of the real killers here, "TIBWF(3)" and "Up From The South(4);" also check "Volcano Song(5)" and their cover of "Sing A Simple Song(6)."

reviewed by the mgmnt