One of my favorite local bands, Thought, recently came out of their 6 month hiatus (after bass player, PJ Boeckel, welcomed a baby girl to the word) to put on a little diddy for us at a make-shift yet super awesome DIY venue in Bushwick called, The Church… because it used to be, you guessed it, a church.

On the heels of their newly dropped single, “Charm”, Thought’s performance explored a darker side of the band infused with punk and rock undertones, in comparison to the previously released Politics for Kids album.   The night continued with a number of new additions including “The Reminder” as well as a cover of Bad Brain’s “Sail On“– which you should be prepared to be sing all day, since I totally am.

Thought front man, Michael Williams aka Miwi LaLupa, has been a busy bee the past year, touring with bands such as Red Baraat, Beyondo, Hylofi, Knights on Earth, Michael Leonhart, and the Charlie Hunter Trio– not to mention, Williams and fellow guitar player, Tim Allen, have been making guest appearances in the Broadway musical Fela!.

After Thought’s performance, I was introduced to Superhuman Happiness, another Brooklyn-based band led by fellow Fela! musician and Antebalas musical director, Stuart Bogie.  As described by Glide Magazine,  their newest single, “GMYL”, channels Oingo Boingo, Talking Heads and MGMT with Nigerian beats over the course of three horn-fueled minutes.   Pretty cool stuff.