There is a whole backstory to Staff Benda Bilili, the guitar-driven band from the streets of Kinshasa. It’s dramatic, it’s touching, it’s heart warming, all of that, and it was relentlessly flogged in the promotion of the group’s first album, Très Très Fort, in 2009

Staff Benda Bilili was formed by polio victims, all of whom were scorned by Kinshasa’s musical community because of their disabilities. They used to play music together on the grounds of the Kinshasa Zoo, because it was the quietest place they could find. The group was rounded out by street-kid teenagers, none of whom had anywhere else to go. They were discovered busking by Vincent Kenis, head of the music label Crammed Discs, and recorded their first record outdoors in the Kinshasa zoo

That’s fine for a debut record. But even a kick-ass backstory doesn’t mean much when it comes to a second album. Staff Benda Bilili – whose name translates as “look beyond appearances” – deserve to be recognised more for their musical merits than backstories. And Bouger Le Monde! is again an utterly unique and eclectic stew of African rumba and other influences from rock to reggae, and, happily, even more accomplished and energising than its predecessor

Staff Benda Bilili trade in the long tradition of Congolese rumba music. Bouger Le Monde! means ‘move the world’, and it’s not just a catchy title that also serves as a shouted refrain on more than one song – it’s a mission statement. These songs rumble and burble and shimmer, with a relentless momentum. And not only is it a better, more polished record, but also a more interesting one. Some songs, like opener ‘Osali Mabe’, sound like classic rumba songs by Franco or Papa Wendo, with a slightly modern touch. Staff Benda Bilili retains the traditional rumba feel, even when trading lead vocals among seven different band members

Equally elevating is the fast-paced, attacking Kuluna (Gangs), on which the band sound at once celebratory and confrontational. Libala Ya Mungwa has a chorus so thoroughly uplifiting it destroys any language barriers

But Staff Benda Bilili is also just as influenced by rock and other genres of African music. ‘Mutu Esalaka (The Brains Are OK)’, channels the Soul Brothers, and could easily be on any ‘ best of’ South African compilation. And the group’s cover of ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’ is a beautiful hybrid of Nuyorican salsa and West African pop. Heady stuff, anchored by one of the world’s top rhythm sections: Montana Kinunu Ntunu on drums, Randy Makana Kalambayi on percussion, and Paulin “Cavalier” Kiara-Maigi on bass

For a while, it feels as if the group’s now trademark party spirit might come to predominate at the expense of other moods or feelings. This band, wise and experienced well before they broke through internationally, know better than that. ‘Souci’, unfolding patiently and gracefully over more than six and a half minutes, offers a more melancholy tone, with a sense of longing and perhaps wistful nostalgia at its heart. ‘Djambula’ is stranger and more mysterious, taking the band in a less familiar direction, and perhaps pointing beyond their comfort zone. Everywhere, the group’s vocal harmonies offer a distinctive richness and empathy

‘Bilanga’ is a full-on rock song, punctuated by the group’s signature squealing guitar sound. If you’ve ever seen the band play at all, you’ll know that this is not actually made by a guitar at all, but a single-stringed instrument constructed by group member Roger Landu out of a tin can. It’s apparently impossible to keep this homemade instrument in tune, but even this apparent imperfection works as a reminder that not every rough edge needs to be sanded down!

There is some heartfelt wisdom being handed around on this record. ‘Apandjokwetu’ chronicles the humiliation and negativity the band’s members faced when they were starting out, ending with a not-so-humblebrag about how they are now famous around the world. And no matter what your current political persuasion, it’s pretty hard to knock the self-determination message in ‘Sopeka’, in which they exhort other Kinshasans to stop begging and borrowing and just get a damn job or two

All in all, there’s very little that could improve Bouger le Monde! It is the apex of the so-called “Congotronics” movement that Crammed Discs has been pushing with Konono No. 1 and similar bands. It is innovative but still rooted in a firm roots tradition. It is socially committed but not predictably or boringly so. And it gets you up and dancing. Easily a candidate for best record of the year