From Kinshasa
by Mbongwana Star
  • Record Label: Atlantic
  • Release Date: May 19, 2015
Metascore
88

Universal acclaim - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
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  1. Drowned In Sound
    Jun 3, 2015
    100
    With their debut Mbongwana Star have made a really classic record for the ages, and what’s more, one that could shape a whole lot of music to come.
  2. The Guardian
    May 14, 2015
    100
    As with a lot of From Kinshasa, listening to it feels like arriving in a bustling, unfamiliar city, a very long way from home: a gripping mix of excitement, apprehension and sensory overload.
  3. Spin
    Aug 14, 2015
    90
    From the rock of “Nganshé” to the roll of “Coco Blues,” two forward-looking cosmopolitans (plus friends) craft new directions in urban sound.
  5. New Musical Express (NME)
    Jul 14, 2015
    90
    It may be titled From Kinshasa, but this record could easily be from the future.
  6. musicOMH.com
    May 28, 2015
    90
    The music is consistently either thrilling, evocative or moving.
  7. The Line of Best Fit
    May 14, 2015
    85
    From Kinshasa is a distorted transmission of a sound of a city, but it's not the neatly paved, orderly and predominantly functioning type of town most of us are used to.
  8. The Wire
    Jul 27, 2015
    80
    The album is imbued with the expectant, febrile energy that comes with having forged ahead into unknown spaces with out the means or desire to backpedal. [Jul 2015, p.58]
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  9. Clash Music
    Jun 16, 2015
    80
    While familair touchstones remain in place, they are thouroughly eroded and inverted by Doctor L's production adding subtle,a dn not so subtle, layers of noise and distortion along with a throbbing bass presense and post punk reverb.
  10. Record Collector
    May 26, 2015
    80
    Mbongwana Star concoct an abrasive sound barrage of heavily distorted rumba grooves, here accompanied by post-punk guitar slashings. Channelled through Farrell’s electro blender on the likes of Nganshe, Masobele and the jaw-droppingly brilliant single Malukayi, it becomes a modernised, starkly original strain of dub that suggests fresh tributaries for a rapidly evolving music.
  11. Mojo
    May 20, 2015
    80
    Kala is where the album explodes into life. [Jun 2015, p.93]
  12. Uncut
    May 14, 2015
    80
    Their debut takes SBB's percussive "Congotronics" sound and twists it into dramatic new shapes. [Jun 2015, p.78]
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  13. The Quietus
    May 14, 2015
    80
    It could so easily have turned into a mess, but Mbongwana Star have made probably the most consistently listenable album to emerge from Kinshasa's rapidly evolving new genre.
  14. The New York Times
    Jun 1, 2015
    70
    The soukous guitars are still there, now and then, but solitary post-punk guitar lines also hang in the air, and they share a spooky, precarious soundscape that changes with each track: heaving with distorted bass, warped by the echoes and shifting reverb of a psychedelic-dub production, invaded by noise.

Awards & Rankings

10
#10 Best Album of 2015

User Reviews

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User Score
5.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 60 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 60
  3. Negative: 22 out of 60
  1. BrushedRed
    Jun 3, 2015
    0
    Sounds like Gnarls Barkley from hell. If this passes as music today, I'm afraid of the future. This is some of the worst drivel I've everSounds like Gnarls Barkley from hell. If this passes as music today, I'm afraid of the future. This is some of the worst drivel I've ever heard. The electronic from "Malukayi" is stuck in my head and that's not a good thing at all. Pretty sure the critics are either paid off or they have no taste in music… Full Review »
  2. Yesiamaduck
    Jun 9, 2015
    9
    A highly contagious mix of traditional congo percussion, sharp groovy bass lines and atmospheric instrumentation. The kind of band that youA highly contagious mix of traditional congo percussion, sharp groovy bass lines and atmospheric instrumentation. The kind of band that you hope to cross paths with during a music festival whilst carrying a flagon of Cider as the sun beats on you, it's contagious and demands you dance, and it comes across incredibly well on record. It's not for everyone, the vocals in particular I can see being kind of divisive on some people, but honestly I haven't had a single other album grab my attention quite like this one this year.… Full Review »
  3. brockcheese
    Aug 12, 2015
    9
    This album is very interesting. I've never heard anything like it. I totally understand where people are coming from saying that the voicesThis album is very interesting. I've never heard anything like it. I totally understand where people are coming from saying that the voices are annoying. Your enjoyment to this music directly correlates to your acceptance of new sounds.… Full Review »
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