Between 2 Worlds

Elikeh is one of those bands that seems improbable: an Afropop band with three members from West Africa (Togo, Nigeria, Benin) and four from the U.S., heavily influenced by Bob Marley as well as many African artists, centered in Washington D.C. What is even more improbable is that they actually make it all work as well as they do. Between 2 Worlds, Elikeh's third album, brings all their disparate influences together in a danceable, croonable, lovable collection. It kicks off with the loping "No Vision", a track that splits the difference between just about everything they do. While the band grooves along in 12/8 time, singer Serge Massama Dogo lectures a certain "Mr. President": "You lead as you are told / You do as you are told / The train of history is leaving without you." It seems to be directed at Togo's president Faure Gnassingbé, the newest representative of a dictatorship that has lasted almost 40 decades ... but it really doesn't matter, as the message is universal, especially when Frank Martins unveils his lovely guitar solo. (Matt Cibula, PopMatters)

Slightly reggae-influenced sound and themes, but a bit more jazzed-up than downbeat. These guys are an Afro-pop band from Washington DC so an American influence IS apparent - note the blues guitar solos - but the groove is decidedly Togolese! (Reb and Ella's World Music School)