Genesis Owusu - "Death Cult Zombie"

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Photo by Isaac Brown

We adored Genesis Owusu's 2023 album Struggler, and now the Ghanian-Australian artist is back with a new single. While being incredibly dance friendly "Death Cult Zombie" isn't the same dance music from his previous album. Instead, this new track is more of a grime meets ska meets rock song. It has a fairly serious subject matter that you can guess from the song's title, but this one is a bunch of fun, which you can assume from my description. "Death Cult Zombie" goes just as undeniably hard as it is a blast to listen to. Let's hope this is the beginning of a bunch of new music and a tour that makes its way to the US, since missing Owusu at Boston Calling and The Sinclair is one of my biggest musical regrets of the past few years.

Genesis Owusu says of his latest single:

“For most people, the shaking up of what they consider to be true is too scary and inconvenient. Once you’ve picked your truth, you live by it staunchly despite whatever pesky 'facts' and 'logic' get in the way. Pride won't let you be wrong, fear won't let you be free, dogma won't let you be aware. The delusion is more comfortable. But the longer you sit in that delusion, the faster the zombification spreads through your body like a plague; like a scourge. Gotta be brave enough to break from the cult.”

You can watch the video for "Death Cult Zombie" below. For more on Genesis Owusu, check out the artist's website.

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The Cairo Gang - "Be What You Are"

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Photo by Rachel Cassels The Cairo Gang is mostly Emmett Kelly, who recorded most of their upcoming album, Goes Missing,  on his own while travelling. "Be What You Are" is pure pop gold, reminiscent of British invasion bands like The Kinks and The Zombies. It features jangly guitars and some of the most infectious layered vocals you've heard in years. Luckily the beauty of this style of music is that it never quite sounds dated. It might sound like it's from a certain era that happened 50 years ago, but everything you've ever listened to since then borrows so heavily from it that it always sounds current. It's the kind of music you wish you hadn't missed, only now you haven't. Goes Missing  is due out June 23rd on God? Records. You can pre-order the album now, and be sure to check out The Cairo Gang's Facebook . Listen to "Be What You Are" below, and below that are tour dates, many opening for Mikal Cronin. Sat. Sept. 5 - Portlan...
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