Deltaphonic - The Funk, The Soul and The Holy Groove (Album Review)

Like yours truly, the funky soul band, Deltaphonic is fed up with the music industry. Their new single "Liars", from their third album The Funk, The Soul and The Holy Groove, is a hard rebuke of the current method of making it in the music biz. Those lyrics and the impressive groove behind them instantly gave this band credibility with me. The Louisiana based band is fronted by two core members, Andrew T. Weekes and Paul Provosty. Weekes writes and sings and plays guitar, whereas Provosty plays lead guitar. The band then farms out the other parts to the best musicians including Trenton O'Neal and Ciaran Brennan who both add drums to the mix. The result is an incredible combination of styles and sounds that defy convention. The lyrics are honest tales of hard times on the street. It's not like Weekes is in a room banging out lyrics for songs. He's likely walking the streets with ideas in his head that easily translate to these real life stories.

"New Mexican Rockstar" is a slow, smooth R&B track (think Cupid) with various roots influences. The guitars come at you with a warm subtlety. "See Red" falls in with old rock radio swagger. Airing more on the side of blues, this would be something Lenny Kravitz would steal. "Starlit" shifts to a more west coast late night groove. The production on this record is truly first rate. The lyrics to these songs are not for the simpleton. "The Denouement" is a superb jazzy ballad, complete with strings and a fine keyboard solo. "Bad People" is a bluesy, laid back, mid tempo track that builds as it goes along. The band practices a lost art form - minimalism. Where less is more. You may hear a touch of Little Feat or The Radiators here, but the band's identity is firmly in tact. The guitar solo is worth the price of the entire album.

"Don't Have To Be Good" let's you find out what Led Zeppelin might sound like if they played R&B. It's an uptempo jam with a riff Jimmy Page has in his closet somewhere. Imagine a rock station playing this song? I can. "Ghosts" is one of the more accessible tracks for straight up rock fans. After establishing a groove and then a tempo, the band lays down a wonderful vocal soundscape that feels R&B and rock at the same time. The more you listen to these guys, the more you realize that there is a lot going on. And that categories don't really explain what they do. "If It Don't Bleed" employs a great blues hook but still exudes rock and soul. This style shifting is hard to do while maintaining a level of cogency. But these guys do it on every song. "Mississippi" shakes and stirs all of the aforementioned attributes but adds maybe a southern rock jam band element.

Hearing this music is like being washed up on the banks of Lake Ponchtartrain with a sack of stolen loot. This album captures the spirit of the region and proclaims it with joy. You feel the struggle within the lyrics, but you still feel the presence of a force that carries all of these songs to special places. This is a band that feels comfortable taking musical chances. And they truly pull it off. The Funk, The Soul and The Holy Groove is the Holy Trinity of Delta based music. Put on a set of headphones and prepare for greatness.

Album Rating 9.6