Soulstack - Selftitled - New release review

Hot on the heels of Soulstacks second release "Five Finger Discount" Canadian band, Soulstack, is back with a hot new self titled release. Opening with the funk rocker, Just Don't Call It The Blues, lead vocalist/guitarist, Jon Knight and key man Mark Wessenger get into slinky world joined by the driving bottom of Darryl "Harpo" Peterson on bass, Tom Bono on drums and Chris Latta on guitar. This is a hot track and is bound to make you groove! Can't Take It With You has a bit of a pop ballad feel with a catchy melody. Knights vocals are smooth and well delivered and Wessenger's piano nicely presented. Little Fire Alive is a real nice R&B style track actually reminding me quite a bit of Ben E King. Warm vocal blending and a hot guitar riff bring this track home over the crisp drum work of Bona. Rocker, Lot Of Good Men, has a driving beat and stinging guitar work over solid organ work and tight drumming making this a prime radio track. Poison Headache has a jazzy Latin beat and a high energy rhythm guitar part. With compounding of keys and drums over the bass line, this track has an infectious groove. Tip Of My Tongue is a soulful track with a nice bounce in the rhythm. Compositionally, I find this to be the most powerful track on the release with a very solid melody, super vocal harmonies and balanced instrumental backing. Melodic guitar soloing near the end of the track help to punctuate it's overall power as a stand alone composition. No Man's Land has an interesting time signature and is a bit more of an open jam. A bit of a departure from most of the rest of the release, I like it! Love Thing is another track with a bit of funk in it's step and it moves along quite well. With a balance between soul, rock and funk this track has a nice mix of guitar, organ and drums under the vocals creating a cool party feel. Real Bad Feeling has a bit of a Jackson Browne feel with an Arena rock style. A solid melody and stinging guitar work carry the weight on this one. Wrapping the release is Time Don't Wait, a soulful ballad with a really nice melodic guitar solo and powerful keys and drums driving the way. An excellent conclusion to a solid release.


 

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