Bhi Bhiman, the son of Tamil parents who moved to the US from Sri Lanka, has an intriguing and original take on Americana. His songs pair tuneful, sturdy, all-American melodies with often bleak and humorous lyrics about immigration, history, race and global politics. Bhiman was pegged as the “Sri Lankan Woody Guthrie” after the release of his eponymous last album, but here his influences echo socially conscious 70s soul and gospel. He has a no-nonsense, gutsy vocal style and a batch of inventive songs. The album starts with the story of escape to a new life on Moving to Brussels, followed by There Goes the Neighbourhood, in which an intolerant American complains of change. Elsewhere, there’s a song about race, sung from the viewpoint of the Black Panther leader Huey P Newton, while Waterboarded (in Love) is darkly comic. Worth checking out.
