Black Congo NC

The mantra bandleader Eric Deines yelps through the bridge of “James Brown Day Parade”—“We can live under the radar”—suits Black Congo NC just fine. Once a fixture of Charlotte’s semi-underground house-party circuit, BCNC has become more elusive, and its appearances much more rare since Deines left Charlotte.

His bandmates, too, have kept busy. Guitarist Bo White has focused on his Duo Select and his role in Yardwork since the dissolution of skronk-rockers Calabi Yau. Keyboardist Ryan Miller moves crowds as DJ George Brazil. Saxophonist Brent Bagwell leads the excellent improv combos Eastern Seaboard and Great Architect. Great Architect also boasts BCNC drummer Michael Houseman and sample wizard Casey Malone, who on the side, hones his found-sound pop collages under the name Bob Fields.

But the fact that Black Congo NC is, as it were, living farther under the radar than it once did, and that its members are involved in any number of disparate side projects, doesn’t detract from the ecstatic pop mélange BCNC can securely call its own: The Afrobeat influences their name might suggest are, indeed, prominent, especially on cuts like “James Brown Day Parade,” where Houseman’s drums drive a trebly guitar funk, or on the chiming cymbals and insistent woodblock he uses to propel “Chocolate Boots.” Their take on the genre is equal parts Fela and Paul Simon, but neither influence leaves too heavy an influence on BCNC. There’s also Miller’s indietronica, and Malone’s sampledelic pop bustling and burbling behind Deines’ crisp croon on “Persimmon Valley." 

Ultimately, the disparate origins of each member’s musical background congeals into something singular that even the band members themselves will admit is best reflected by the live performance. That’s why the scarcity of Black Congo NC performances is something to be both treasured and mourned. —Bryan Reed