Orange Blossom "Everything Must Change"
Blending Arabic lyrics, full horns section, heavy guitars and driving, late-90s left-field electronic beats along with some well-placed samples, Orange Blossom are something akin to Natasha Atlas on an angry day
French Algerian Leila Bounos’ provocative vocals, and PJ Chabot’s attacking punkish strings give this real drive from the outset: blending a catchy, dark upfront mixture of West Africa, Europe, Mexico and the Middle East.
There’s no easing-in period either. Everything Must Change, released eight years after the group’s first album, kicks off as it means to continue, ‘Habibi’ breaks out into a rock versus electronica standoff, clashing heavily overdriven guitars battling the incessant electro-beats, building into an intense wall of sound. ‘Souffrance’ — the only French track — is full of sadness, soft and meditative, and one of only a few pauses for breath the album takes, a moment of calm in a storm of an album.
Infectious melodies and Bounos’ sensual and soaring Arabic vocals as well as some haunting samples such as those on ‘Cheft El Khof’ make it music to get lost in. The beats and sequencing are reminiscent of Leftism, but there is so much in here.
If Everything Must Change, then it sounds as though it will be done with much clashing, conflict and unease. If you have been waiting for this follow-up to Orange Blossom’s first release it will definitely have been worth the wait. A superb release from Wrasse Records.