Malawi Mouse Boys
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Malawi Mouse Boys | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Malawi Mouse Boys at WOMADelaide in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Malawi |
Malawi Mouse Boys are a Malawian band. They have released four albums, and performed internationally in Europe, Australia, and the United States.[1]
Malawi Mouse Boys are named for their work while not making music, which is selling the Malawian delicacy of skewered mouse.[2] Ian Brennan came across the band in 2011, and produced their first album He is #1, released in 2012.[1] Several of the songs on the album are about Jesus Christ.[2] It was the first album sung in Chichewa to be released outside of Malawi.[1] Writing for BBC Music, David Katz described the album as "rough around the edges, which keeps everything a bit more real."[3] The Times compared the album to the music of the Blind Boys of Alabama, and praised the vocals of Zondiwe Kachingwe.[4] In the New York Times, Jon Pareles wrote that "The guitars don't stay in tune, but the voices do. They're remarkably steady and resolute".[5]
In 2013 Malawi Mouse Boys played at WOMAD.[6] Their second album Dirt is Good was released in 2014, and Songlines described it as "Afro-reggae gospel, bare-boned and scrappy".[7]
Malawi Mouse Boys' third album Forever is 4 You was released in 2016, and was less well-received than its predecessors. Songlines wrote that "the general delivery is rickety in the extreme".[8] Brennan described the sound as "more experimental" than their previous albums.[1]