Kokoroko’s charmed ascendency continues on Tuff Times Never Last, the follow-up to their 2022 debut album Could We Be More. The record finds the London-based septet in an enviable position, having garnered both critical acclaim for their distinct fusion of jazz, Afrobeats, and highlife music and a formidable reputation as live musicians. Tuff Times Never Last maintains the group’s core identity as champions of the West African sounds that serve as inspiration for their own compositions while weaving and layering new textures and influences into their artistic fabric. Drawing on elements from a litany of genres from funk and neo-soul to UK R&B, band leaders Onome Edgeworth and Sheila Maurice-Grey direct the group through 11 unique variations on the main theme of togetherness, with shades of love and romance shining the brightest. “Just Can’t Wait” leans into the delight of anticipating a flirtatious rendezvous with a smooth bassline and reverent harmonies, while the hypnotic melodies of “Closer to Me” play off “Sweetie”—feather-light and bubbly—to contrast infatuation at two different intensities.