"This disc convinces me that the greatest African dance band on the planet this year hails from Chicago."
-Norman Weinstein, The BEAT vol 26 no 3

Best World Music Group, 2008
-Chicago Reader's Best of 2008

"One of ten must-sees at the Pitchfork festival: a blend of Chicago and West Africa, with the dancefloor as common ground."
-Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune 20 July 2008

"Pitchfork Festival - Sunday's Best: Many fashionable rock bands count themselves fascinated by the polyrhythms of classic West African pop, but scant few have the chops to pull it off convincingly. This Chicago band doesn't try to tame this beautiful music with Western ornaments but instead offers up respect through authentic interpretations and originals. A dance band for the thinking man."
-Matt Lurie, TimeOut Chicago, 17 July 2008

"No band in Chicago can play West African dance music like the Occidental Brothers."
-Tony Sarabia, Radio M, Chicago Public Radio 17 July 2008

"A horn section that sent the pre-dominantly indie-rock crowd back to the drawing board"
-Venus Zine 28 July 2008

"The band blends Central and West African dance beats with elements of jazz and underground rock, creating a vibrant musical cocktail for dancers in the July sun."
-Drew Fortune, Chicago Social July 2008

"There have been a lot of bad highlife, rumba and African salsa revival bands, particularly synth-based ones in the mid-80s, but the Occidental Brothers pull it off. The guitar work is spot on and they lay on some subtle effects to get that 1960s recording feel to the music as well."
-Matt Yanchyshyn, Benn Loxo du Taccu, 24 March 2007

"You could easily believe the tracks on this very sharp cd were recorded in Kinshasa or Accra years ago rather than quite recently in Chicago...OBDBI offer up simply stunning instrumentals recalling the golden ages of rumba, highlife and other African styles"
-T. Orr, World Music Central, 12 May 2007