Here are a pair of releases that mix sounds from various traditions with some vintage pop vibes.
I’m not sure of the concept behind naming a band The Young Presidents. Are they that enamored with the “hope and change” of the present one? Anyway, you’ve got Jake Hertzog/g, Mitchell Kaneff/b along with Anton Fig/dr, Rich Crowley/dr, Blondie Chaplin/key creating a mix of 70s hard rock along with rough and ready vocals by Neville, Chaplin, Corey Glover and Adam Ezra. There are a couple of ballads, such as the string-laden “Love You Forever,” but most of the time, you’ve got some blues licks as on “Stand up for Love” and funk fests such as “You Got Me Deep.” As for their cover of Edwin Starr’s “War,” I suggest they sing that piece to the relatives of 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust.
Ahmed plays guitar, bass and sings along with various sounds that mix Central Asia with 70s Sunset Strip. Ibrahim Samih/s drums are rock steady, similar to Mott the Hoople or The Who, while acoustic and electric guitars mix and match with either Ahmed’s lead vocals, or a backing choir of voices and additions of horns and percussions. A trip to a disco in Mumbai circa Nixon administration?
MKM Productions
ASASI Records