John Muka Band Turns Reflection into Rhythm on "Things I Can’t Change"

I don’t know if it’s me or everybody feels same too, but I love artists that just let the music flows through them effortlessly without anything being forced. The John Muka Band has dropped an album that takes us into a realm where we feel it’s okay to make mistakes and not just keep blaming yourself. Because on this album titled “Things I Can’t Change“, brings in a experience like a long letter they’ve been meaning to send for years. I love how things don’t feel rushed but rather something pulled out of a drawer, dusted off, and finally shared because it needed to be. These songs sit with heavy feelings, but they don’t wallow. They just tell the truth and move on to the next track without leaving the listener behind.

It’s crazy how the whole 12 tracks has something to offer yet follows through from the previous track. In as much as the band blends jazz, funk, rock, and indie in a way that feels natural, you don’t get bored. At one moment you’re nodding along, the next you’re wondering how a fiddle and piano just made you feel something you weren’t ready for. Taking listeners into a world of jazz and melodic vocals is the opening track A Moments Thought. This track starts straight into action, those drums and trumpets immediately draws the listeners attention and push themselves into a dance mood. Like what you sitting down for moment. I love how some tracks stretch out and jam whilst others pull things back and let the words do the work. It’s the kind of album that sounds different depending on your mood, which to me makes it special.

You see those moments where you’re under a show you attended, then the music drops and all of a sudden your whole soul is taken into an atmosphere soaked with soo much reflection, cos the lyrics just touches on the right things you been dealing with. And this album does justice in that, the lyrics touches on mistakes, memories, and those moments you replay in your head at midnight. The title track, Things I Can’t Change, lands right in the center of it all.

This one hits you right in the head , it doesn’t force anything, it just pierces your soul with truths, more “yeah, that happened” than “please feel bad for me.” And this just makes you wanna keep going. Then there’s track titled “Not Me”. Is it actually you? Like you doing your best, you doing everything but everything you do centres back to the same place and people think it’s you. Well that doesn’t mean you gotta give up tho, just keep going. One thing is I know the band says that these songs are conceptual, but the emotions feel real enough to borrow for a while.

For an album recorded in a home studio and shaped over many years, the album has patience written all over it. It’s interesting, the jazz, funk and rock blends gives it this live performance vibe that I really f*ck with. Nothing feels like it’s trying to chase trends. “Things I Can’t Change” is for listeners who like albums that take their time and trust you to listen all the way through. It’s thoughtful, a little moody, and quietly hopeful.

There’s a gem of track in “Cornered” but you see that track “Heavy Load”, maybe everyone should make it their go to track. It just hits different, it brings these sad emotions and joy mixed together like no other. Sometimes you care about someone and at the same time you wish they could face anything, you’d be checking on the door for a nock and then at a point you don’t care again, yet you go to bed with a heavy load on your mind. Such a masterpiece. And if it makes you think about your own past for a second, well, that’s kind of the point.

Enjoy More From John Muka Band here;