FRKWYS, Vol. 9 (Sun Araw & M. Geddes Gengras Meet the Congos)
The ninth title in RVNG International’s cleverly titled FRKWYS (read as ”freakways”) series is Icon Give Thank, a full-length collaboration between Los Angeles–based psych-rockers Sun Araw and the legendary Jamaican vocal group The Congos. The product of a whirlwind 10-day recording session, Icon Give Thank is a startling mélange of fractured, murky instrumentals and gorgeous vocal harmonies, whose very existence testifies to the massive influence that The Congos’ masterpiece Heart of the Congos (produced by Lee Perry) has had on contemporary music. Though none of the selections here could properly be characterized as reggae, all of Icon Give Thank—from the woozily synth-dusted nyabinghi of “Invocation” to the ecstatic incantations of “Happy Song"—is deeply indebted to the singular aesthetic of Heart of the Congos.