THE MIGHTY SCEPTRES! – ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY SCEPTRES!
A brilliant take on vintage sounds by Cornwall combo The
Mighty Sceptres – seamlessly mixing vintage funky group soul styles! As much as
we dug their earlier 7-inch on Ubiquity, we're pretty much floored by how much
deeper this excellent full length cuts! Singer Angeline Morrison has a way of
bringing in a soulful warmth with laidback charm – and the band brings a lot of
different styles into play, without going too far out of the old school comfort
zone. Drums, Rhodes and horns are prominent, but there's some more orchestral
string touches, glockenspiel, harmonica and other elements that really take it
to another level. All Hail, indeed! Includes "Siren Call", "I
Found The Letter", "Just Didn't Mean It", "Sting Like A
Bee", "Nothing Seems To Work Right", "Land Of Green
Ginger", "We Got A Problem", "Gentle Refrain",
"Nothing But A Pack Of Cards", "Krazy Kat" with guest
vocals by Ian Dunlop, "That Ol' Feelin'" and more. 13 tracks in
all. ~ Dusty Groove
BABA COMMANDANT & THE MANDINGO BAND - JUGUYA
One of the most solid albums we've ever heard on the Sublime
Frequencies label – a studio recording by a group with a really great approach
to their music – a style that mixes classic Afro Funk elements with rootsier
elements on the instrumentation! The grooves are tight, but the sound has some
nice earthy qualities at times – especially in Baba Commandant's use of ngoni,
which rings out in a way that's both melodic and rhythmic at the same time –
echoing an older mandingo tradition, but coming across with a lot of punch!
Other instrumentation includes lots of percussion, fuzzy guitars, and balafon
too – and most of the vocals have a call/response style, in which other singers
call out alongside Baba's lead. Really great stuff – with titles that include
"Tile", "Folon", "Wasso", "Juguya",
"Siguisso", and "Ntijiguimorola". ~ Dusty Groove
THE RONGETZ FOUNDATION - KISS KISS DOUBLE JAB
An even hipper album than the first Rongetz Foundation
outing – which we totally loved – thanks to work from classic musicians who
include Gary Bartz on alto, Steve Turre on trombone, and Monnette Sudler on
guitar! The music is a great blend of bass-heavy rhythms (acoustic bass, that
is), jazzy flourishes, and these excellent vocals from Lilli Cooper – an artist
we don't know at all, but who brings a real underground soul vibe to the whole
thing – with an old school approach that really lives up to the
instrumentation! The album already won us over by including one of our favorite
Charles Earland tunes ever – the sublime "Murilley", a lost gem from
his late 70s years, given a great vocal reading for the set – and other titles
are all original, and include "Cab Samba", "Kiss Kiss Double
Jab", "Marshmallow Throne", "Such A Morning Person",
and "Sonia Poem", which features a recitation from Sonia Sanchez. ~ Dusty Groove
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