Artist: The Budos Band
Title: The Budos Band III
Release date: August 10
Label: Daptone
If you're one of those folks who's gotta hear singers -- who needs words in their pop music -- you're forgiven if you don't have much use for The Budos Band. The rest of you? Tune in to this fantastic record. If I get nothing else out of Nothing Not New beyond hearing The Budos Band for the first band, well, that's okay with me.
The Budos Band are an instrumental act from Brooklyn on the Daptone label, which also releases the music of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. Like that group, The Budos Band are decidedly retro and strive for an authentic sound, albeit from a decade later in soul's history.
The 10-man Budos Band goes for the gut with a hard-hitting horn section (including a deadly baritone saxophone) and an airtight rhythm section. The BB's 1970s soul is fortified with funk and adorned with some African (and occasionally Latin) flair. It's like the soundtrack for a blaxploitation flick that is yet to be made.
The songs are concise and inventive. No drawn-out jams or excessive soloing here. It's all about the song and the arrangement.
I'm thinking Budos Band as the soundtrack for my next late-night pool party. And I can't wait to hear their previous two records. Extra credit for the coolest record cover of the year.
Note: The Budos Band is scheduled to perform on Tuesday, August 17, at the Sail Inn in Tempe.
Best song: The ominous "Nature's Wrath"
Rotation: Heavy
Deja vu: A non-ironic tribute to the horn-happy 1970s.
I'd rather listen to: The re-issue of the Black Belt Jones soundtrack, at one time a holy grail record of mine. (Thank you, Revolver Records.)
Grade: A-
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