Soul Resurgence

w/ St. Paul & The Broken Bones

     Move over Brittany Howard, there's a new shaker in town and his name is Paul Janeway. And he's nipping at your heels. For those of you who don't already know, Birmingham has given birth to one of the hottest new soul bands around in the form of St. Paul and the Broken Bones and it looks like they may be giving their Athens-based counterparts a run for their money when it comes to barnburning live shows and a new take on retrofitted indie R&B with a garage band twist. Lead by bassist/arranger Jesse Philips and the inimitable blue-eyed vocal prowess of St. Paul- who at times sounds like a cross between Otis Redding, Al Green, and Solomon Burke (as filtered through the ghost of John Belushi)- the band has been gaining a reputation around town for their incendiary stage show and spot-on readings of everyone from Tom Waits and Screaming Jay Hawkins to O.V. Wright. Backed by ace guitarist Browan Lollar, drummer Andrew Lee, and the horn section of Ben Griner and Allen Branstetter, the band have developed a small cult following among music aficionados here in the Magic City and are seemingly poised for bigger and better things beyond our state lines.
     Having recently graced the cover of B-Metro magazine's music issue a few months back, the band has been busy preparing their first official release in the form of a new 4-song EP entitled Greetings From St. Paul & The Broken Bones and have finally given fans something to gnaw on before hitting the road in early December to take their music to the masses. Recorded at Ol' Elegante Studio by Les Nuby (with help on the mixing board from none other than the Alabama Shakes' Ben Tanner), the EP is a powerful display of the band's best chops coupled with their dynamic take on brass driven rock and roll. From the opening single of "Sugar Dyed Honey Pants"- with its mix of mainlined Memphis soul and preaching blues- to the tender balladry of "Broken Bones And Pocket Change" and the driving Nuggets-era organ romp of "Champagne Halloween," there's not a clunker in the bunch and may prove to be the opening chapter of an extremely promising career. With an upcoming performance set for Wednesday night on Music City Roots- a live streaming music program hosted by Jim Lauderdale and broadcast from the Loveless Cafe Barn in Nashville- the band may very well be on their way to following in the Shakes' footsteps as a slice of authentic Yellowhammer Soul on the national stage.

     We'll just have to wait and see....


     Check out their new single here:
     
http://stpaulandthebrokenbones.bandcamp.com/track/sugar-dyed-honey-pants

     And stream their performance on Music City Roots here:

http://musiccityroots.com/