Reader and friend Hal sent me these amazing ladies, and I can’t stop playing them. This is the gospel group known as The Como Mamas. Hailing from Como, Mississippi (Pop. 1,279), the Mamas are powerful and memorable in the extreme. They’re not what I’ve come to expect of gospel music. They’re not perfect, they’re not polished, they don’t blend, they don’t smile much. They sound like regular folks, only funkier. And I like them immensely.

“The Como Mamas demonstrate this kind of unity that has been so central to the development of African American history. Their three voices do not merge indistinguishably into one, but rather create a collective sound all the more moving because each individual voice remains clear. In a review of the Como Mama’s record Get an Understanding, ethnomusicologist Fredara Hadley celebrated the “imperfectly harmonic” relationship between their voices. And it is in this perfect imperfection, this slippage, this coming together of three individual voices each singing the song and not just the notes, that a vector of energy is created. This energy is what moves people. This is the energy that gets you through.”

– Music Maker Relief Foundation

You can follow The Como Mamas on their website and on Facebook.