Simido

"Moonlight Benjamin says her influences include The Black Keys, and her band certainly share that raw attack. But her thrilling blues rock is singular, and that's down to Benjamin's earth-shaking vocal delivery - the definition of a big blues voice ... 2018's "Silitane" saw her transmit songs based in Haitian folklore and the country's struggle to an international audience. "Simido" builds on that impact, with mainly social commentary conveying frustration or hope via powerful raw emotion and heavy riffage".

"[Moonlight Benjamin] is Haitian-born but has been resident in France for almost 20 years, and although there's not a great deal that's overtly Haitian in her music apart from the thundering drums, a voodoo spirit drives her music as she sings in Creole and most of her songs address the plight of the land of her birth. Backed by a four-piece French band, her brooding blues-rock owes much to the rawness of the likes of Alabama Shakes and the Black Keys. Above the sonic maelstrom, her voice booms with an almost scary power, particularly on the title-track and on the closer 'Kafou', named after a spirit in the voodoo pantheon and which she turns into a heartfelt tribute to the proudly rebellious spirit of Haitian culture. If the overall mood is somewhat bludgeoning, she shows she is capable of greater subtle on 'Pasay', a prayer to the spirits, asking them to help the Haitian people in their hour of need".