Why are people referring to Blk Jcks as the African TV on the Radio? Clearly, they’re the African Mars Volta…okayl, to be honest and fair, neither are true. Both, however, are properly evocative of the South African group’s sound. They the former’s alternative-flavoured genre-bending, and plenty of the latter’s progressive rock freak-outs. In fact, through every searing guitar solo, the band come across like the Volta’s less-polished but less freaked-out younger brother (Lindani Buthelezi’s soulful voice is solid and gives the music roots; even when he’s singing in an unfamiliar language like Zulu or Xhosa, he is less unhinged than Cedric Bixler-Zavala). The opener “Molatatladi” is the most overly African track on the album, complete with group backups of ahey-oh-hey. After that, Blk Jks leap off into puddles of reggae, dub, rock and prog with percussionist Tshepang Ramoba providing impressive rhythms throughout. Ultimately, calling After Boots African-something is a cop-out and suggests gimmickry that is simply not present. It’s just a crazy, adventurous rock band who happen to be from Africa, and it shows.