Antibalas

Where The Gods Are In Peace finds Antibalas sharpening their Afrobeat attack into something both political and ecstatic. The Brooklyn ensemble have long been one of the most important modern interpreters of the Fela Kuti tradition, but this album does more than salute a lineage: it expands it with huge horn arrangements, lock-tight percussion, hypnotic bass movement, and a conceptual sweep that turns each long-form track into its own immersive world. Critics praised the record’s balance of heavy subject matter and relentless groove, and that tension is exactly what makes it so powerful on vinyl. There is protest here, but there is also uplift, motion, and the sheer pleasure of hearing a large band fully locked in. For collectors of Afrobeat, politically charged jazz-funk, and Daptone’s consistently excellent catalog, this LP is essential—a muscular, danceable, deeply resonant statement from a group whose live energy translates brilliantly to record.