Kongos

Globe-trotting alt-rock group Kongos came together in 2007, built around the skills of brothers Dylan, Daniel, Jesse, and Johnny Kongos, whose father is the well-known South African singer/songwriter John Kongos. In 1971 that musician landed a Top Ten single with “He’s Gonna Step on You Again,” the track that later supplied the foundation for Happy Mondays’ 1990 hit “Step On.” Operating from Phoenix, Arizona and drawing on a wide range of inspirations that include Wire, Coldplay, Tinariwen, Dire Straits, the Prodigy, and Miles Davis, the four-piece crafts propulsive, stadium-scale alt rock reminiscent of Muse, the Boxer Rebellion, and Kings of Leon, colored by the layered rhythmic patterns rooted in their South African background. Their self-titled first album appeared in 2007; two years later came the platinum-certified Lunatic, which yielded the singles “I’m Only Joking” and the Soweto-tinged “Come with Me Now.” Third full-length effort Egomaniac arrived in June 2016 and included the tracks “Take It from Me” and “I Don’t Mind.”