Album review by Robert Newsome · Published on May 03, 2022 in Bandcamp Daily

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Combé So My World

 

There’s a certain type of house and house-adjacent music, generally on the more “ambient” side, that tends to feel almost immobile while still featuring upbeat rhythms. That static quality is a hard thing to describe. It’s not the “laid-back” nature of the more “chill” forms of the style, it’s almost as if the music has been carved from ice; impressive and shiny, but also cold and distant. Combé So made me think of this because My World takes those sorts of beats and breaks them free from their frozen trap. This music moves.

 

Combining Afro-pop sensibilities with house and funk beats adds a kinetic flow and a more urgent, engaging feel. These songs are soulful, at times intimate (as on “Si je ne meurs pas” when the music stops for a brief spoken interlude) but most importantly filled with joy. That celebratory feeling really shines through on “Moussolou” with a sharp snare-driven beat and huge group vocal harmonies on the choruses. By the time you reach the end of the sultry album closer “Blind Drive,” you’ll almost certainly be swept up in the music’s joyfulness. With a record like this, it’s almost impossible not to be.

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My World features the #saxophone. Lots of it. It’s great. Using that instrument as a bridge is a perfect way to see its range. We’re heading from a smooth and poppy sax sound to something a bit rougher and more aggressive.