Shined Up Just Right

Thao & Mirah “Rubies and Rocks”

Mirah sounds great when she seems to be confined within a rigid yet funky groove. That tension brings out a defiant edge in her voice — firm and assertive while overtly feminine. In “Rubies and Rocks,” that isn’t a contradiction, though it’s very different from the same impulses and desires filtered through traditional masculinity. The horns are a brilliant tonal and melodic counterpoint to her voice in this arrangement. That part sounds very Afrobeat to me, very Fela. Melodically, but also functionally — the beat and bass are like a cramped, overheated room. The horns come in like a gust of cool, fresh air that ends far too soon.

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