THEESatisfaction and Gifted Gab

Celebrating the release of their sophomore LP, EarthEE, righteous black weirdoes THEESatisfaction are throwing themselves a party at Capitol Hill culture hub Neumos. The fanfare’s justified: Much like Shabazz Palaces’ cosmic leap in quality between their already-great debut Black Up to one-of-of-a-kind sonic world-building on Lese Majesty, Stas and Cat array the looser strands of debut awE naturalE into an addictively disorienting mélange on the new record, as Stevie Wonder-jocking synths and jazzy bass lines jockey with distended ambience and mutated drum machines for the listeners’ attention. And floating above it all (or perhaps swimming beneath it), coy and unknowable as a Sphinx or the Mona Lisa, Stas and Cat’s Afro-centric incantations worm into your ear, an almost subconscious running monologue of mantras, swagger, and mysticism. KYLE FLECK