by Various Artists
Women of Soul Self Titled (PBS Feature Record)
Album Review "Women of Soul"
There has been a lot of anticipation surrounding the release of the new Women of Soul album. Funded by a successful Pozible campaign, these 8 talented Melbourne women have written new material specifically for the album. Each of them have been performing as part of Melbourne's live music scene. Some for a short time only, some for quite some years. So backed by a killer band - made up of some of Australia's finest soul and funk musicians, for me - I was betting on this being a no brainer. And they have not disappointed.
The first thing I did was listen to the first 20 seconds of every song from Track 1 through to Track 10. When you flick through the tracks you are immediately struck by how good the musicians are, how good each recording sounds, the sustained energy of the songs and how solid the release is from start to end. There is great continuity to the album thanks to the band. It sounds beautiful. Its clean and its balanced. And it is funky! And then you are struck by what is most satisfying about the album. Each of these women bring their own unique sound and their unique take on soul to their song. There is raw, there is sweet, there is gentle and there is power. There are ballads and there are belters. There is naiive youth and there is knowing maturity. It is a real diverse and satisfying balance to have that all on one album and I put a lot of that down to the fact that this is a collective project by different kinds of women all with great momentum and packed with a really talented pool of people who have found each other on this great common ground. Pulling on the strength of the Melbourne soul scene, this album is a great achievement and right at home.
You cant help but hear the confidence this project has brought to their own personal game. You can hear it in the songs. There are no weak tracks on the album. They are all honest songs. Their group song is a great finishing touch too. This album is going to please a lot of soul music lovers. Different listeners will find different favourites. And isn't that exactly what you would want from a soul album?
By Lyndelle – The Afterglow
William Elliott Whitmore Radium Death (Featured on The Breakfast Spread)
In William Elliott Whitmore’s latest album Radium Death you can almost feel a sense of relief. A lot has happened in the four years since his last album (Field Songs) – he got married and his beloved grandmother passed away, who raised him from the age of 16 when his parents died. William’s previous seven albums are full of forceful energy, but something feels very different about this one. For Radium Death he’s gone back to his punk roots to kick off the album with ‘Healing To Do’ which immediately makes you look twice at the record player – is this William Elliot Whitmore? It certainly is. In a very raw state, with most of the songs written during the time he and his family were caring for his grandmother. Tunes like ‘Go On Home’ are more of his classic sound, and ideas of life and death are still explored throughout the album. By the end of this album you’re 100% with this guy, it’s like you want to congratulate him on getting through this difficult time. Beautiful from start to finish, Radium Death is a genuine work of art.
By Cat – The Breakfast Spread
This week's Top 10:
