Extra Golden: Thank You Very Quickly

The strangely juxtaposed supergroup Extra Golden gathers members from vaguely math-rock-ish band Golden and Kenyan Benga outfit Extra Solar Africa, and it’s a good fit for a lot of reasons: Golden’s polyrhythmic explorations aren’t that far off from Afropop, and Golden’s Ian Eagleson is an ethnomusicologist to boot. The band’s third full-length features six tracks all hovering around the six-minute mark, and most mesh the contrasting styles with ease. One notable exception: Whenever an English-speaking vocal invades the unfortunately titled “Fantasies Of The Orient,” things hover on the edge of portentous prog-rock at its worst. Better ideas include the slow-boiling but fast-moving climax of “Anyango,” which nearly manages to connect the dots between Southern Skynyrd jamming and Afropop, and the fleet conclusion “Thank You Very Quickly,” which thanks all those who donated money to keep the musicians’ families safe in turbulent post-election Kenya. Ultimately, Extra Golden—which rarely slows down for anything and is heavy on extended rhythmic/jamming passages—tilts more Kenya than America, and at least partially disproves all those Vampire Weekend and Graceland comparisons: A blind listen would peg this as straight Afropop. Adjust your interest level accordingly.