Stacks of Soul on New Release Five Finger Discount From Soulstack

Stacks of Soul on New Release 'Five Finger Discount' From Soulstack    Five Finger Discount is the sophomore release from Southern Ontario roots and blues band Soulstack. Produced by singer / guitarist Jonathan Knight, the album tracks the organic evolution of the band as it continues to grow in musical breadth and depth, picking up where their highly acclaimed first album, Big Red, left off. The ever creative, prolific  and often competitive songwriting team of Jon Knight and Mark Wessenger once again bring beautiful melodies and poignant lyrics to the table, that have been expertly captured on Five Finger Discount. The band’s return to Canterbury Music Company studio with famed engineer Jeremy Darby has once again proven to be a soulful, sonic success.   With the addition of guitarist Chris Latta on tremolo-soaked baritone and standard guitars, and the huge bass chair being shared by Harpo Peterson and Josh Knight, the album’s sound is full and deep with layers of pure heart and soul.  With his heavy and thick grooves, award-winning drummer Tom Bona shines throughout and provides the band with an inspired, rock-solid foundation. From rockers like "Not the Only One", "Fold Up Your Heart", and the impossibly funky "Hangin’ in the Kitchen" to the heart wrenching balladry of "Stay" and "Born to Make Me Cry", the album presents a wide range of musical emotion.   The greasy and gritty approach to that vintage sound of Big Red is carried on and kicked up a few notches on Five Finger Discount. The band wears its influences proudly upon its collective sleeve and will steal the hearts, and ears of fans of the great southern bands of yesteryear. Just ask the thousands of people who witnessed blistering performances by Soulstack this past summer at some of Canada’s biggest music festivals - including Montreal Jazz, Mont Tremblant, Kitchener Blues, and Toronto Waterfront Blues Festival. Recently, Soulstack was nominated for Electric Act of the Year, and Drummer of the Year for Tom Bona at the upcoming Maple Blues Awards.    Soulstack faithfully walks the path laid out by their heavy stack of influences; the time-honoured traditions of roots, blues, soul and rock and roll.   www.soulstack.com www.facebook.com/Soulstack http://music.cbc.ca/#/artists/Soulstack   QUOTES “…the most righteous sounding this side of Sunday”. - Duane Verh, Roots Music Report   "I could sum up Five Finger Discount in just two words; great groove.  From rockers like Not The Only One to a heart breaking ballad like Born To Make Me Cry the record displays a wide range of emotion.  No matter how you feel at any given time, chances are pretty good that there’s a song amongst these 12 that will speak directly to you". - John “The Rock Doctor” Kereiff "As expected there is a lot of ’60s style soul and R and B music featuring  excellent vocal harmonies and a whole lot of soul right from the first track". - L.A. Beat   “Their invigorating mixture of whiskey-inflamed vocals, classic-sounding organ work and some super tasty guitar licks all add up to a kind of rootsy realism that is mostly non-existent these days”. - Jeff Monk, Uptown Magazine   Media ToolsStream ‘Not The Only One’ here Watch/ Share ‘Long Way Down’ here

Soulstack - Five Finger Discount - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Five Finger Discount, from Soulstack and it's diversely interesting. Opening with Long Way Down, Soulstack reestablishes their footing firmly in Dead like jam style blues. I quick paced track with warm vocals and solid drumming from Tom Bona. Not The Only One is a cool track with the rhythm and pace of early Ry Cooder music. A little Louisiana funky and really sweet slide work from Jonathan Knight along with super vocal harmonies makes this a definite best track candidate. Want You To Stay really has a lot of the characteristics of some of the best of Garcia and Weir. Vocal styling, contagious rhythm, warm keys from Mark Wessenger make this a super track. Fold Up Your Heart has a lot of the earthiness of the Band and movement of Little Feat. Another winner. Warm Bed To Sleep On remains consistent with the balance of the release but with the addition of a bit more funk and smoky gospel like backing vocals and slick slide work. This is another of my favorite tracks of the release. Friend is the first true ballad of the release with a simple melody and nice hook. Bonnie Raitt like slide work on the track followed by open blues guitar riffs gives the track a little punch. Hangin' In The Kitchen is a cool jam, loosely funky with great rhythmic drumming from Bona and Loiusiana style vocal work complimented by cool keys and a hot guitar solo. Excellent! Have Mercy remains in the jam vein but with a real interesting blues undertone. A Latin rhythms, Spanish guitar styling, Cuban like piano riffs and solid vocals make this another of the best tracks. All A Man Can Do has all of the features of a cool radio track but with a lot more interest. Cool slide riffs and light funky rhythm makes this a solid entry. Born To Make Me Cry is a solid vocal ballad having the seriousness of a Bob Dylan track. Rich vocal blending and strong key work from Wessenger make this a very seductive track. Nicely executed lead guitar melody also adds to the richness of the track. Living Room is the rockiest track on the release featuring solid rhythm and solid key work from Wessenger. Wrapping the release is a live version of This May Be My Last Time with heavy gospel overtones. This is a very strong release with solid vocals and instrumentation.

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