If this decade could be typecast musically, so far it would be the age of the bat shit crazy collaborations. At the fore front of this movement has been Converse’s “3 artists/1 song” collaborations, that have garnered a lot of unfavorable hits. The exception of course is the latest release that found Gorrilaz, James Murphy, and Andre 3000 who told you to “DoYaThing.” David Albarn is back with another collaboration, this time with afrobeat drummer Tony Allen, and legendary bassist Flea. With a line of guest stars including Erykah Badu, M.anifest and Thundercat, this Super-Group put forth an afrobeat jazz mix tape with mixed results.

Albarn is no stranger to Super Group side projects (See The Good, The Bad & The Queen), and at the helm, this seems like more of a wish fulfillment than much else. Albarn has worked with Tony Allen before on The Good, The Bad & The Queen, and much of the album showcases Allen’s wonderful drumming. Strangely enough, Albarn’s vocals don’t show up until the track “Poison.” The band play well together, the biggest problem is that the music doesn’t go anywhere. There is hardly any progression on any of these tracks, which frustrates me to no end.

The track “Extinguished” has some really great vocals from Cheik Tidiane Seck and then somewhere toward the end of the track, this sample of what sounds like Super Mario hitting a power block comes in for a second. Honestly, WTF WAS THAT!. The strict Rocket Juice & the Moon tracks, and there are many of them, feel like elevator/supermarket music; the track “There” is a perfect example of that. What makes this album enjoyable, if you can call it that, is the guest vocalists, where the band decide to bust out a few more sounds.

Call me an idiot, but I just don’t get this album. On paper, the concept sounds great, but on record it sounds uninspiring and sorely lacking musical direction. It has flourishes of greatness, but needs a lot of work. Maybe next time guys.

Album Rating: Borrow It from a Friend

Listening Co-efficient: Background Music

If you’d like your music reviewed on teamhellions.com email recordreviewsonhellions@gmail.com