Album Review by Bradley Christensen The Velvet Stones – Musical Solution Record Label: Self-released Release Date: April 3 2016
Over the last couple of years, I’ve gotten heavily into funk, soul, and R&B music. I’ve been into R&B music for a long time, but if I had to be more specific, the kind of R&B music that I’ve enjoyed is more in the vein of alternative R&B / PBR&B. You know, Frank Ocean, How To Dress Well, and The Weeknd, just to name a few artists in that vein, but I really started getting into old school R&B, whether it’s more 90s R&B, 70s funk / soul, or 60s soul / R&B. It’s always kind of nice to get into the classics, or at least have an understanding of where the genre came from. The thing is, too, alternative R&B has kind of been on the decline, at least for me, because I haven’t found a lot of artists worth giving a damn about. Ever since I got into 70s funk, soul, and R&B, I’ve found a lot of modern bands that really specialize in that style. Mama’s Boomshack, Soul Scratch, The Gold Magnolias, Fat Night, and The Dip, just to name a few. Thing is, though, these bands are not mainstream. You won’t hear them in the mainstream, typically, minus a handful of artists. There is a resurgence of 70s soul and funk, which makes me happy, because I love that kind of music. I was super into that last year, as well as earlier this year, especially if you remember that the first album of this year that I listened to (that’s also my favorite album of this year), was a soul / funk album. That would be Soul Scratch’s sophomore album, Pushing Fire. I could go on about that album for days, but it’s a fantastic record. One of the best albums I’ve heard in a long while. That’s how I actually came across the band I’ll be talking about today. That band is The Velvet Stones, and I came across them sort of through Soul Scratch. They liked a post I made on Instagram, but when I went to their Instagram, I noticed that Soul Scratch followed them, too, so that’s what perked my interest. I was like, “If Soul Scratch is into them, I might be into them, too.” I picked up their latest LP, 2016’s Musical Solution, and I was pretty pumped to listen to it later that day.
The wait was worth it, but I have some issues with this record. Nothing major, but we’ll talk about them when we get there. In the meantime, let’s just talk about what I like about this album, and there are a nice amount of things I like within this album. For starters, I love the vocals, but they took a few listens for me to get used to. Their vocalist has a very souful and rustic kind of voice. He very much plays into the southern soul sound, so think less Sam Cooke and more Otis Redding. His voice is still very good, and there’s a lot of range and power within it, but it’s definitely grittier and less refined. That’s something I love about it, too, especially when I got more into it. I really like this band’s overall sound, too, but that’s one of the issues I have with the album, too. It’s one of those things that I’m just mixed on, but I do like their sound more than I’m not into it. It’s not even that I don’t like it, but the thing is, this band does southern soul / funk well, but they don’t really add anything to it. Not that a lot of these bands do, because this sound isn’t all that common anymore, so they don’t have any reason to, but while Soul Scratch’s Pushing Fire kept me on my toes, this album doesn’t. Not that it’s boring, or not engaging, but this LP goes through the motions a lot of the time. The album doesn’t have a lot of diversity to it, and I think that is biggest issue. Not that the album doesn’t add anything new to the genre, as Soul Scratch’s Pushing Fire didn’t, either, but it was a good, balanced, and interesting mix of soul and funk that was lively, fun, energetic, and diverse. This album is a bit diverse, but not enough to justify its length. This album is a bit long, and while it’s not bad, it does wear itself out by the end. That’s not to say the album’s bad, or anything like that, because there’s a lot to like. I mean, I enjoy the vocals, and even its sound, as well as the lyrics. The lyrics might be its weakest point, because they’re your average soul lyrics that you’ve heard before. Soul Scratch got a bit more political on Pushing Fire, but it was more in the vein of unity, sticking together, and loving each other.
These lyrics are more in the vein of what you’d expect from soul bands, and these artists, but they’re written well, they’re sweet, and they’re enjoyable. I have no issues with them, really, but at the end of the day, they’re nothing super memorable. I hate to make it seem like I’m just comparing this album with my favorite album of this year, which is kind of unfair, but Pushing Fire is an album that blew me away. It still does, and The Velvet Stones are a band with potential, if anything at all. There’s a lot to really like here, and there’s nothing bad here. It’s just that I’m not quite as engaged as I should be. It’s not the vocals have more of a southern and grittier tone to them, and that’s something I very much like, or that the sound doesn’t really add anything new to the genre (I can give a lot of bands a pass for doing what they do well, and if you want more of a straightforward soul and R&B kind of group, this band is perfect for that; there isn’t really any funk in their sound), but it’s that the album isn’t too diverse. It’s not diverse enough, at least, because this album only has a couple of modes to it, whereas Pushing Fire had a few. The album was also quite short, so it knew to keep things concise. This album just drags a bit, but I do like it. This album is great, and it’s a solid soul album that’s worth your attention, but it’s a bit more subtle, understated, and quiet, so it’s not as funk-driven or energetic as other albums in this vein. If you’re into soul music, or you want something a bit different to bump in the coming months, give this LP a listen. It’s a worth a shot, at least, and it’s not like it’s bad. The thing is, too, I’m going to be more selective with what I review nowadays, just as a heads up, so if I talk about something, well, it’s worth listening to, no matter if I love it or hate it. I want to dedicate my time to stuff that I want to talk about, versus talking about everything I listen to. If I did that, well, that would be a lot of time spent on albums that are just “okay.” This album isn’t that, though, and it’s a pretty solid soul record that I’ve been enjoying a good amount. It’s totally worth a listen, but more so if you’re already into soul music.