Album Review: Where the Gods Are in Peace by Antibalas

Since 1997, when they formed in a Brooklyn warehouse, Antibalas have taken their skewed take on Afrobeat around the world countless times and released five albums, the last of which came out five years ago. Now they’ve returned with Where the Gods Are in Peace, which takes their lustral party vibes and adds layers of activist lyrics, satire and incendiary rhythms to create their strongest, and most politically charged, album to date. 'We are still very much a political band, but as we mature we present and pay homage to the deep courage of our ancestors, we express a message of peace, harmony, and dance, and we take a hard look into the past while forging a future of solutions' is how the band explain their creative process, something expressed perfectly on opening track ‘Gold Rush’.

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In the five years since Antibalas released their last album (2012's self-titled affair), the Afrobeat collective have seen a significant number of their musicians leave for other projects, as members have joined Arcade Fire, the Roots, the Black Keys and Mark Ronson in supporting roles. But as their latest LP, Where the Gods Are in Peace, shows, the Brooklyn band have benefited from an influx of new players, too.   It seems as though the youth movement in this 12-piece band were weaned on early Antibalas, as this five-track LP resurrects ….

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