Album Review: 1 2 Kung Fu! by Boy Azooga

There's a fine line between pulling off eclecticism and losing your own sound within a sink-load of influences and ideas. Happily, Boy Azooga fall into the former camp on this debut. Mastermind Davey Newington, who plays pretty much everything on the record, has said he wanted ‘1, 2, Kung Fu!’ to be comparable to a mixtape. And over 35 minutes, he takes us on a sonic adventure, collecting sounds from all over the genre map as he goes.

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There's a moment during 'Jerry', which comes on like a much less needy Mac DeMarco, where Davey Newington ponders "why does the song have to end, why can't I ever comprehend?" It's a fitting proposition for a record that spirits the listener along at quite a pace, its already relatively concise thirty-five minutes stirring a melodic whirlwind. The aforementioned Canadian slacker-rock merchant is not the most helpful reference point here, what with Boy Azooga traversing the genres at will. LCD Soundsystem, Fleet Foxes, William Onyeabor, The Black Keys, The Beach Boys and the Super Furry Animals are all carried comfortingly on the breeze of '1, 2 Kung Fu!' The brainchild of an artist with a diverse record collection and an addictive love of music, Newington's stage name sits atop a wonderfully rich set of songs.

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