Soul survivors

The two musical acts today represent the kind of variety and diversity we can find in the genre soul music. Tigallerro’s Phonte and Eric Roberson represent the possibilities of hip-hop, while St. Paul and the Broken Bones harkens back to the sub-genre Southern swamp soul.

Phonte & Eric Roberson — Tigallerro (available on Amazon.com). If you’re wondering what chill, soul-inflected music can sound like when mixed up with hip-hop, the collaboration between Phonte and Eric provides the answer with a resounding “Wonderful.” The opener It’s So Easy and the fourth track Hold Tight are bound to make you break out in an ear-to-ear smile. But what really drives the album as one of my favorites this year, is the sparkling consistency and the high-production values. Grow This Love has the great hook that just depends on the vocals and a drum track and hand claps, with minimal instrumentation. If you have to seek the album that’s on the indie label, Foreign Exchange Music, I would suggest Amazon as your best bet.

St. Paul and the Broken Bones — Sea of Noise (available on Amazon.com). Led by Paul Janeway, the album is Southern soul at its retro finest, so steeped in heritage that it actually sounds fresh today. If you had to think of an artist whose music recalls the approach and vocal delivery, phrasing and musical arrangements of this new artist, I would have to say Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Dr. John and other soul artists of that era. Flow With It and Midnight On the Earth are my immediate upbeat favorites, while there are blues ballads interspersed in the playlist, such as I’ll Be Your Woman. Gospel, the blues and home cooked R&B are what make up the ingredients of the satisfying brand of Soul music. So old it sounds new.