GENRE; Jazz, R&B, International
RELEASE DATE; 28 November, 2025
RATING; 4/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jimi Tenor’s latest with the Jimi Tenor Band, Selenites, Selenites!, is a buoyant, exploratory record that folds funk, Afrobeat and jazz into compact, groove-forward songs. The album—released November 28, 2025 on Bureau B—feels like a band honed on stage, with arrangements that breathe and spill over each other in the warm way practiced musicians allow.
Across eight tracks, Tenor balances playful horn lines and fluttering synths with taut percussion and elastic bass, from the sunlit bounce of “Sunny Song” to the percussive push of “Looking For The Sunshine.” The record’s running time sits just under forty minutes, delivering concentrated bursts rather than sprawling experiments.
What stands out is Tenor’s ear for texture: vintage keyboard timbres, brass accents that puncture without overpowering, and vocal parts used as another instrument. The production keeps the band present and alive; these feel like arrangements born in rehearsal rooms and tightened on stage. Critics have noted how the album “hits its stride in the final third,” when West African influences and funk collide with maximum effect.
The songwriting leans toward optimism—phrases like “Universal Harmony” and “Shine All Night” are literal invitations—yet the music never becomes saccharine. Rhythmically the album is generous, inviting repeated listens to unpack subtle percussion fills and horn reharmonisations. Reviews emphasize Tenor’s long-running interest in African grooves and his joy in genre-blending, which frames Selenites as both continuation and refresh.
At its best the record is communal: it sounds like a band that wants you to dance and to listen at once. Selenites, Selenites! is an inviting entry in Tenor’s catalogue—concise, warm and nigglingly infectious. Whether heard through headphones or on a good turntable, the record reveals new details each play — the kind of album that rewards both casual listening and deep, repeat engagement, and collector appeal.
