exuma – exuma (1970)

This is a spiritual odyssey steeped in Bahamian tradition. Exuma, The Obeah Man, wastes no time declaring his own mythos and strange powers, proclaiming that he can cure whatever ails us. He holds out his hand before dragging us along. The singer’s haunting vocals conduct a kind of seance, relaying 500 years of Caribbean trauma. Both eerie and enchanting, everything from the frog croaks to the zombie groans feel appropriate in this torment. The ritual’s abrupt break “You Don’t Know What’s Going on” is all-the-more cathartic for the crescendoing swirl that came before it. Powerless at the feet of the evil’s of the world, Exuma offers up cryptic answers – it’s up to us to figure out what’s going on.

28/30

A favourite: ‘Dambala’