Brooklyn-based indie quintet Habibi were formed in the spring of 2011 by Detroit expatriates Rahill Jamalifard and Lenaya Lynch, tapping into their Motown roots of simple but infectious pop melodies delivered with punkish attitude. Jamalifard took lead vocal duties and Lynch played guitar and sang, and the lineup was rounded out by drummer Karen Isabel and bassist Erin Campbell. The band played often around the New York City area, eventually releasing several tracks in the form of 7" singles and online streams. They participated in the South by Southwest festival as well as tours with like-minded acts like King Tuff, and by 2014 they released a self-titled debut album of their dreamy-eyed and dancey pop on Burger Records. In 2015, they joined forces with La Luz to release a split single, and a four-song EP, Cardamom Garden, arrived in 2018. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi
~~~~~~~~
Co-founded by Detroit natives Rahill Jamalifard and Lenny Lynch, Habibi got its start in Brooklyn in 2011, earning early raves everywhere from Pitchfork and NME to All Things Considered and The New Yorker, who praised the band for infusing "the Colgate-white glisten of sixties-girl-group pop with an uncensored edge." Dreamachine, Habibi's mesmerizing new record releasing on Kill Rock Stars, marks a major sonic evolution for the band, rising beyond the critically acclaimed five-piece's garage rock roots to arrive at a singular swirl of analog and digital elements that underpin their search for spiritual and physical transcendence.
Produced by Tyler Love and longtime collaborator Jay Heiselmann and featuring MGMT multi-instrumentalist James Richardson, the collection draws on a mix of post-punk, experimental pop, and vintage disco, calling to mind Tom Verlaine, Diana Ross, Kate Bush, and Kim Deal, all filtered through the band's shared love of Middle Eastern psych music. The songs here are their own distinct worlds, each an immersive quest in pursuit of something greater, and the band's performances are relentless and hypnotic to match, driven by lush synthesizers, sinewy guitars, and a muscular rhythm section. The result is a record as fearless as it is enthralling, an alternatingly fierce and joyous work that ascends to new heights as it reckons with desire and escape, love and surrender, rebellion and reality.
Brooklyn-based indie quintet Habibi were formed in the spring of 2011 by Detroit expatriates Rahill Jamalifard and Lenaya Lynch, tapping into their Motown roots of simple but infectious pop melodies delivered with punkish attitude. Jamalifard took lead vocal duties and Lynch played guitar and sang, and the lineup was rounded out by drummer Karen Isabel and bassist Erin Campbell. The band played often around the New York City area, eventually releasing several tracks in the form of 7" singles and online streams. They participated in the South by Southwest festival as well as tours with like-minded acts like King Tuff, and by 2014 they released a self-titled debut album of their dreamy-eyed and dancey pop on Burger Records. In 2015, they joined forces with La Luz to release a split single, and a four-song EP, Cardamom Garden, arrived in 2018. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi
~~~~~~~~
Co-founded by Detroit natives Rahill Jamalifard and Lenny Lynch, Habibi got its start in Brooklyn in 2011, earning early raves everywhere from Pitchfork and NME to All Things Considered and The New Yorker, who praised the band for infusing "the Colgate-white glisten of sixties-girl-group pop with an uncensored edge." Dreamachine, Habibi's mesmerizing new record releasing on Kill Rock Stars, marks a major sonic evolution for the band, rising beyond the critically acclaimed five-piece's garage rock roots to arrive at a singular swirl of analog and digital elements that underpin their search for spiritual and physical transcendence.
Produced by Tyler Love and longtime collaborator Jay Heiselmann and featuring MGMT multi-instrumentalist James Richardson, the collection draws on a mix of post-punk, experimental pop, and vintage disco, calling to mind Tom Verlaine, Diana Ross, Kate Bush, and Kim Deal, all filtered through the band's shared love of Middle Eastern psych music. The songs here are their own distinct worlds, each an immersive quest in pursuit of something greater, and the band's performances are relentless and hypnotic to match, driven by lush synthesizers, sinewy guitars, and a muscular rhythm section. The result is a record as fearless as it is enthralling, an alternatingly fierce and joyous work that ascends to new heights as it reckons with desire and escape, love and surrender, rebellion and reality.
read more
show less