Review: Kokoroko – Could We Be More

London octet Kokoroko have released a long-awaited debut album Could We Be More, a 15-track triumph that journeys through funk, jazz, soul and Afrobeat in one of the most uplifting albums of the year.

If 2022 needs anything, it’s a little more positivity. Could We Be More is just that – upbeat and an elegant and thoughtful record that moves through style and form with graceful intent. Opening track ‘Tojo’ blends soulful chord progressions with punchy, staccato trumpets that punch above flowing, echoed drum rhythms. ‘Age of Ascent’ is a pensive, elegant dreamscape of brass and sax riffs that complement the undercurrent of swirling guitar refrains. The vocal additions on ‘We Give Thanks’ and ‘Something’s Going On’ may be unexpected given the emphatic focus on artful instrumental arrangements, but nonetheless lend an anthemic quality to these songs, elevating them in their own right.

Tracks like ‘Blue Robe (pt. i)’, ‘Reprise’ and ‘Home’ act as rippling intervals between stylistic and rhythmic change, blending the entire album together smoothly – a wonderful homage to the group’s varied backgrounds and individual influences.

Could We Be More is an interesting, welcome change to the uniformity of the Top 40 radio playlists, instead displaying the true art of instrumentalism, and how, in the right hands, they can be used to create magic.

ϟϟϟϟ – 4/5.

Listen to it below.