Music Review: Algiers, The Underside of Power

Now is the time for Algiers. The quartet from Atlanta, Georgia, bring such passion to their sound it's like setting the rage of today's headlines and social media feeds to music.

Tapping into themes of police brutality, oppression, and calling power to account, the album is itself powerful and confronting, but also uplifting.

The anger of a track like Cleveland, which references the shooting of 12-year-old black boy Tamir Rice by police in Cleveland in 2014, alongside mentions of the KKK and lynchings, promises change - "Innocence is alive and it's coming back one day".

The title track, which addresses the fragility of power, likewise advises "stay strong, change is coming on, one day a change is gonna come".

And throughout, the album presents a compelling blend of musical styles - the fury of rock guitars, the darkness of trip-hop, the power of gospel harmonies.

Its post punk noisecore leanings are tempered by the album's roots in a classic soul sound. An album that is so "today" draws its ultimate strength from history.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars