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.
Aptly named after the Italian word for frippery, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ sixth album leans into high-impact flourishes at every opportunity. Such hectic maximalism has long been the Perth act’s signature, but *Fronzoli* proves especially intricate and madcap. After the joyous prog-rock pummeling of opener “Nootmare (K.I.L.L.I.n.G) \[Meow!\],” the band locks into rapid-fire angularity on “(I’m a Kadaver) Alakazam” before running just as eagerly through Beatles-esque melodic uplift (“Cpt. Gravity Mouse Welcome”), glam swagger (“All Aboard the S.S. Sinker”), and even placid acoustic balladry (“Illusions of Grandeur”). If all of that sounds too disparate to really gel, a key uniting factor is songwriter/vocalist Jack McEwan, whose darkly debonair vocals recall Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner even when his lyrics reach their most absurd. The entire band handles every sharp left turn with aplomb, rivaling fellow Aussie exports King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard for pulling off abrupt scene changes with untroubled cool.
