Album Review: Hanni El Khatib - Savage Times

Hanni El Khatib's Savage Times, made up of all the songs from the five EPs he released last year together with four brand new tracks, is a widely diverse album, his signature electric guitar its unifying element.

The album carries many important messages — Freak Freely urges you to be yourself and Gun Clap Hero comments on America's police shootings — but it's still Born Brown, an ode to American immigrants, that's the most powerful. On this track, El Khatib — born in San Francisco to immigrant parents — throatily shouts his pride over an intense four-on-the-floor kick and heavy synth line.

The compilation that is Savage Times works as a well-formed, unified body of work.