Sinkane: Life & Livin’ It review – socially conscious music suffused with joy

Aimed at the heart and the feet, the release of Sinkane’s new album couldn’t be more timely. Keen to make socially conscious music suffused with joy, band leader Ahmed Gallab houses his succinct lyrics in upbeat Afro-funk (the luminous U’Huh, built around a simple mantra of “We’re all going to be all right”), sun-kissed post-rock (Favourite Song) and, on the pulsating Telephone, the sort of galloping alternative dance music you hope LCD Soundsystem are still capable of. This being 2017, however, unease seeps in; Deadweight is an ominous-sounding opener sugared by some lovely falsetto, while the lilting, reggae-tinged Won’t Follow deals with loss but ends with Gallab sweetly crooning “I feel new”. A compelling reminder of the uplifting power of music.