Here Lies Man
Marcos Garcia is a busy man. He’s the guitarist for Antibalas and fronts the group Chico Mann. That’s not enough to keep him busy (or maybe being an indie musician means you have to stay busy all the time just to keep the rent paid). His latest project, Here Lies Man mashes up psych rock, Afrobeat and greasy exploitation movie soundtracks. You wouldn’t think that Fela rhythms and Tony Iommi guitar fuzz would go together, but it works.
Listening to Here Lies Man, I’m continually having flash backs to ’70s grindhouse films that used jazz and funk players to spin off cheap soundtracks for all sorts of dubious films. The distorted vocals might as well be in Amharic for all they add to the tunes. They’re just another sound in the swirl of keyboards and guitar. It’s the sniping keyboard jabs than really take me to the sticky floored, dubious downtown theaters of my youth. I hear those sounds and I’m transported to Kung Fu triple features and action porno flicks. I guess that means these guys really need to score a Quentin Tarantino film.
