Neneh Cherry/The Thing – The Cherry Thing ★★★★

Rec. date not given

To those who know her only from 1988’s ‘Buffalo Stance’ or 1994’s ‘7 Seconds’, her duet with Senegal’s Youssou N’Dour, the decision of Scandinavian skronk trio The Thing to team up with Neneh Cherry might seem odd. It begins to look inspired, however, when you remember her role in post-punk groups like The Slits and Rip, Rig + Panic, and the fact that her stepfather was Don Cherry… after whose 1966 track Gustafsson and co take their name. Together, the four-piece tackle a predictably unpredictable songbook, from the rapper MF Doom to The Stooges via Ornette Coleman. Punk in spirit but less macho than The Thing, it sounds like nothing so much as Art Ensemble Of Chicago’s ‘Theme De Yoyo’ – if it featured a rap about getting ‘more cheese than Doritos’. Some have already put Cherry Thing forward as an album of the year contender. No quibbles here.

– Marcus O’Dair