In the five years since The Cavemen. released their critically acclaimed debut album, Roots, the brothers have established themselves as the foremost exponents of highlife for the genre’s next generation of listeners. Following in the footsteps of greats like Chief Osita Osadebe, Rex Lawson, and Oliver De Coque, The Cavemen. are spiritual successors of a sound forged by resilience and rigor. On their third album, Cavy in the City, the pair push things further, tweaking their way to a futuristic interpretation of highlife with influences from hip-hop, neo-jazz, and R&B. “Welcome to the Cave II” is another installment of the similarly titled opening song from their debut album, setting the pace for the brothers’ globalist vision for highlife. Throbbing percussion and zesty guitar riffs animate “Keep on Moving,” a trans-generational collab with Beninese icon, Angélique Kidjo. In typical The Cavemen. fashion, they examine the trade-offs of romance tenderly (“Adaugo,” “Chameleon”) when they aren’t serving up dance floor summons like “Dancing Shoes” and “Onwunwa Celestine.” The surprises across Cavy in the City are few but always rewarding—like the spoken-word verse from English rapper Pa Salieu on “Gatekeepers,” wherein he offers a rebuke of colonial subjugation and industry gatekeepers. The drum ’n’ bass of “General” evokes an unmissable feeling of authority that is further explored on the earthy “Agada,” showcasing the links that bind the past, present, and future.