St. Paul & the Broken Bones | Half the City
A friend told me that they loved this album and that I should listen to it. And I did. And then I loved it. Remember when things were always this simple? With anything from music to buying a new washing machine, we used to trust the opinion of others around us, going to friends and loved ones for advice before doing anything. Now we just search online for everything. Which is great for things you should already know and are too embarrassed to ask like how to boil water, shovel snow, or do laundry (thanks eHow). But for more subjective things like food, beer, movies, and gadgets we shouldn’t just rely on the internet. Utilize the minds of actual people you know. Have a real live conversation. Unless you’re looking for new music, then fuck your friends, just keep visiting Empty Bottle Evenings.
Half the City, released just about a year ago, is a great soul album. Now admittedly I don’t know much about soul, but you’re going to have to trust me on this one. Or trust my friend. She’s way cooler anyway. And black! There’s your credibility! We will now resume not being racist. St. Paul and the Broken Bones has some of the elements of traditional soul music like R&B piano, powerful and intense vocals, and of course a bad-ass horn section. While we don’t frequently feature soul artists on this site we do often lean toward the music of yesterday: folk, blues , traditional country, bluegrass, gospel, rock’ roll and everything that has been bastardized into what we hear as popular music today. But who says we need to listen to the music of today that copies Michael Jackson and Madonna when we have new artists that invoke the spirit of or Al Green or Otis Redding instead?
Half the City is another retro album that we need to remind us that there is real music out there that doesn’t need dancing sharks to make you feel something. Whether we crave up tempo brass blasts like “Don’t Mean a Thing” or “Call Me” or pained ballads like “That Glow” and “Broken Bones and Pocket Change” this album has that new sound you were looking for so please go tell all your friends. (Or Chuck Berry.) They might appreciate a recommendation from a human being.
The Drink: A Blue Hawaiian, because screw it, let’s kick it back to the ’60s.
Bake
Latest posts by Bake (see all)
- Ben Nichols @ The Turf Club, St. Paul, Mn 6/5/16 - June 10, 2016
- Houndmouth | From the Hills Below the City - May 29, 2016
- Sturgill Simpson | A Sailor’s Guide to Earth - May 15, 2016
[…] bands to adopt the sounds of yesteryear like Fitz & the Tantrums (twice), or JD McPherson, and St Paul & the Broken Bones, but it wouldn’t be feasible if there weren’t suckers like me that ate that shit right […]