Sea of Noise

IN A NUTSHELL:

Recommended For

• Soul and Funk fans

• Fans of 60s music

• Fans of bands like Alabama Shakes, Gary Clark Jr., Sister Sparrow, etc.

• People who think there’s no good music anymore

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Average Rating: 8.7/10

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Pros:

• Accessible and catchy

• Great variety in songs

• Production

• Great vocal and instrumental performances

Cons:

• Too few ranch references "(bird up)"

• Kanye isn’t on it

St. Paul and The Broken Bones is a soul band straight outta Birmingham, Alabama.  The six-piece soul group is led by the powerhouse vocals of Mr. Paul Janeway.  In 2014, they released their debut album Half the City (which caught the attention of all three of us), and have since then been touring extensively.  Sea of Noise was released on September 9, 2016 by the ingeniously named record company RECORDS Records.

Photo by: Lee Burchfield

St. Jake and The Broken Melody Makers:

I had a whole bunch of anticipation for this release after Half the City, which was one of my favorite albums from 2014.  The main problem with bands that have such strong blues and soul influences is that some of them tend to not ever mature their sound, resulting in releasing practically the same type of album every album.  So was St. Paul and The Broken Bones going to follow this trend or break free from typical retro-soul band clichés?  Luckily, it turned out to be the latter.  Sea of Noise is an awesome follow up which perfectly blends a mix of maturing their sound and production while still being able to fill your whole body up with that sweet Southern soul.

From the first second Sea of Noise, St. Paul and The Broken Bones let you know this album is not Half the City part two.  We get beautiful string sections, glistening ambience that would do Brian Eno proud, and then we get Mr. Janeway somberly yet captivatingly repeating “We’re just crumbling light posts in a sea of noise.”  I assume the point of this little intro is to inform you the next 47 minutes of your life will not be spent on earth, it will be spent in a church in outer space in another dimension.    

As I already mentioned, St Paul and The Broken Bones have matured and expanded their sound fantastically.  The two main components to thank for this are the beautiful string sections arranged by Lester Snell and the smart production by Paul Butler.  Take the song “I’ll Be Your Woman” for example.  This song sounds like something that would open a James Bond movie.  The electric guitar in the back of the song gets drenched in spring reverb and is accompanied by some organ and electric piano, which adds a whole bunch of soul and a dash of psychedelic.

Sea of Noise also refuses to become boring or redundant.  This album has an impressive variety of songs on here.  If St. Paul and The Broken Bones want get down and get funky, they will, as shown by “Flow with It.”  If they wanna have a little 60s psychedelic/surf sound, they’ll give you a song like the closer “La Bruit.”  If they wanna give you a powerful, soulful song that’s close to their roots, they’ll give you “All I Ever Wonder.”  Point is, every song is different and every song implements different music styles and production.  It is good.

One last note on this album.  It’s easy for bands with such fantastic, powerhouse singers like Paul Janeway as their vocalist to lean on them to carry the load.  Not St. Paul and The Broken Bones though.  Their songs are great not only because Janeway is complete badass, but because the whole band is completely badass.  They write songs that are well-written, not just songs for the vocalist to wail on.

So overall, this album exceeded my expectations.  It shows maturity, growth, variety, and other good adjectives to describe good follow-up albums.  If I were you, I would listen to it.  You’re not stupid if you don’t, but you’re definitely not smart.  Look it up, spin it, dig it.

Songos favoritos: “All I Ever Wonder,” “Flow with It,” “I’ll Be Your Woman”  

8.7/10

Photo by: ljcurletta

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Mom:

Ooo doggy, that’s gotta be the sweetest blue-eyed soul music out there. This group kicks. Right now, come on. Listen to, “Flow with it” but St. Paul and the Broken Bones right now. I mean it. I’ll even put a link.

There:

So we got a couple of white dudes who aren't afraid to throw a little southern soul in their music, and by a little I mean yeah, it’s a full blown soul band. This band is great because though they are a white band in a genre dominated by black legends, they still have a strong sense of confidence. More than confidence, this band is plenty competent. These guys can stand up on stage and churn out some authentic soul music without coming across as whitewashed wannabes.

OK, I kinda ranted on the band for a bit, so I’ll hit the album nice n’ quick. This album is pretty neat for a soul record because not every song is a vocal firehose. The musicianship pops and compliments the vocals well. The album is also so nicely put together. You get tiny-track-treats here and there. My biggest problem with artists who have powerful vocalists is that every song has to be a home run belted tune. However, this album tones down well, as well as having enough heavy hitters.

Favorite Song: “Flow with it” (I mean shit, I put a link)

8.7/10

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CALL ME MAGICFINGERS:

This is a fantastic album all around. For a while now we have know about these amazing musicians and so expectations were a little bit high. But moreso, the excitement was real. And this album came through big. Not only did they create an awesome soulfully funky set of tracks, but they did so in a way that was fresh and new.

There was a sense of collectiveness and diversity in sounds at the same time, which is always a mark I look for in a great album. The intro gave me the chills, half the tracks had me dancing. The other half were giving me the feels. I dare you to listen to this album and not move your body, it is impossible, I guarantee.

One thing amazing to note, is that this album is a good listen for everyone! Even if you aren’t typically into soul, or blues, or funk and whatnot. You will dig these tracks and you might even put them on your que during a raging party, or at home chillin, or in the car while or driving, or literally any setting at all.

I have no complaints. If you hate music or don’t like to hear things then maybe you won’t dig this but I would still give it a shot.

Favorite Songs: “Flow With It”, “Brain Matter”

8.8/10

Photo by: Doug Anderson

If you are a cool person like us, then you definitely dug this album and will be wanting to find out about upcoming concerts from these boys... SO here's a link to their website for your convenience.

http://stpaulandthebrokenbones.com