Funeral for Justice
As important as it is to foreground the Tuareg/Nigerien heritage of Mdou Moctar’s scorching psychedelic rock, it’s just as important to note its connection to the American underground. After all, *Funeral for Justice* isn’t “folk music” in any touristic or anthropological sense, and it’s probably as (if not more) likely to appeal to fans of strictly American weirdos like Ty Segall or Thee Oh Sees as anything out of West Africa. Still, anyone unfamiliar with the stutter-step rhythm of Tuareg music should visit “Imajighen” and the lullaby-like hush of “Modern Slaves” immediately, and it pleases the heart to imagine a borderless future in which moody teenage guitarists might study stuff like “Sousoume Tamacheq” the way Moctar himself studied Eddie Van Halen. As with 2021’s breakthrough *Afrique Victime*, the intensity is astonishing, the sustain hypnotic, and the combination of the two an experience most listeners probably haven’t had before.
In his most directly political album yet, the Tuareg guitarist lets his solos become the sound of his fury when his Tamasheq lyrics aren’t enough.
If you’ve heard a previous Moctar record and pieced together the best bits, you’ll have an imitation of Funeral for Justice’s righteous glory, but if you haven’t, use this record as a roadmap in discovering the previous odd-decade of Moctar’s talent.
The Niger band – spearheaded by their eponymous leader – are fearless, inventive and urgent on their seventh studio album
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Mdou Moctar (aka Mahamadou Souleymane) has come a long way since building his first guitar out of wood and bicycle brake cables as a teenager.
The Nigerien guitarist and his virtuoso band set polemical fury to thrilling musicianship on this no-holds-barred release
Even by Mdou Moctar's high standards, 'Funeral for Justice' is extraordinary. Its music and lyrics are searing, and the messages are essential in 2024.
Funeral For Justice album review by Ethan Rebalkin for Northern Transmissions. The bands full-length drops on May 3rd via Matador Records