Lookman Adekunle Salami cannot be contained. The British artist, who performs as L.A.
Salami, maneuvers between blues, rock, and folk so effortlessly it seems almost ethereal. On
“The City Nowadays,” a single from his 2016 studio debut, Dancing With Bad Grammar (Beat Records), his subtle use of electric riffs and drums to guide the listener in and out of his raplike verses and harmony-laden hooks is enough to settle one into his philosophical roller-coaster ride. “But when the markets dive / the poorest have to save face / they say grace ’cause only faith can pay today’s rates,” he sings. When he strips the song “Day to Day (For 6 Days a Week)” to the basics of roots music, including a harmonica, acoustic guitar and folksy melodies, he seems to lift off into Bob Dylanesque frequencies. It all sounds easygoing, and yet it’s powerful and magnetic—his 2017 NPR Tiny Desk performance of the song is a great example of that talent. Salami’s latest single, “Generation L(ost),” off his upcoming second studio album, The City of Bootmakers, which drops next month on Sunday Best Recordings, gives off nostalgic alternative rock vibes while he sings about a hopeless—seemingly millennial—generation. With opening act Cat Clyde, a Canadian indie folkster with her own dope, finger-snapping twang, on the bill as well, Salami’s show tonight at Schubas is sure to be one for the books. v
