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Lala Belu Image
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 12 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: The first new release in 15 years for the Ethiopian keyboard and accordion player features contributions from Tony Buck and Mike Majkowski.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 12
  2. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Dec 4, 2018
    90
    It's a lovely and deeply creative record that came so late in his career that it appeared to have already been relegated to history.
  2. Uncut
    Feb 20, 2018
    80
    Surprisingly experimental. [Mar 2018, p.28]
  3. Q Magazine
    Feb 20, 2018
    80
    Any fears his propulsive energy may have waned in exiles are quickly dispelled. [Mar 2018, p.111
  4. Mojo
    Feb 20, 2018
    80
    These six new tracks flow neatly on from those recorded for Tche Belew 40 years before. [Mar 2018, p.95]
  5. Feb 26, 2018
    80
    Lala Belu rings out with the resilience of a onetime dreamer who’s absorbed disappointment and settled for something close to optimism.
  6. The Wire
    Apr 5, 2018
    80
    Lala Belu is his first new recording for decades, and it lives up to the expectation generated by their live appearances. [Apr 2018, p.67]
  7. Feb 20, 2018
    60
    Mergia’s approach is often unorthodox. His melodies, snaking up and down the pentatonic scales of Ethio-jazz, are hypnotic and mysterious.

See all 12 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
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  2. Mixed: 0 out of
  3. Negative: 0 out of