The Bottom Line
If the late, great James Brown was still alive and looking for a backing band, you'd have to think that one act that would be near the top of his list is British Funk-Soul group the New Mastersounds, which plays that old-school, '70s Funk and Soul as if it never went out of style. The band's latest release, Breaks From the Border, released in the U.S. on Aug. 9, 2011, is an audio delight for anyone who's still in love with the sound of real musicians playing live instruments when recording and song, and has little or no love for the modern era's overproduced, soulless R&B music.
Pros
- Enthusiastic performing.
- Solid musicianship.
Cons
- Mediocre singing.
- Occasionally weak lyrics.
Description
- Funk music.
- Soul music.
- '70s-style Funk-Soul.
Guide Review - Album Review: The New Mastersounds - 'Breaks From the Border'
If there's one thing that the British and other Europeans have done better than the Americans in the past decade, it's create quality Soul and Funk music. Although Funk and Soul have mainly become things of the past in the ever-evolving U.S. music scene, the genres live on in the U.K., kept alive by acts like Jamie Lidell, Alice Russell, the Brand New Heavies, and until mid-2011, the late, great Amy Winehouse. And another group that deserves to be included on that list is Leeds, England-based four-piece band the New Mastersounds. Although little-known around the world, the Mastersounds have been putting out quality Funk albums since 2001, and their latest release, Breaks From the Border, is another prime exhibit of how to create good, fun Funk.
Although the band isn't quite as tight or top-notch as some of the old-school musicians from the 1960s and '70s like the Funk Brothers, Booker T. and the MGs, they still pack a punch, including on songs like the lead track, "Take What You Need," the footloose ode to independence "Free Man," and the Afrobeat-influenced "Can You Get It," when the band vows "to play this sh*t 'til we're dead in a hole."
Overall, Breaks From the Border is a tasty mixture of Funk and other sounds made by musicians who are obviously in love with making music that they loved growing up and are more concerned with protecting and nurturing a musical heritage than chasing contemporary musical trends.
Although the band isn't quite as tight or top-notch as some of the old-school musicians from the 1960s and '70s like the Funk Brothers, Booker T. and the MGs, they still pack a punch, including on songs like the lead track, "Take What You Need," the footloose ode to independence "Free Man," and the Afrobeat-influenced "Can You Get It," when the band vows "to play this sh*t 'til we're dead in a hole."
Overall, Breaks From the Border is a tasty mixture of Funk and other sounds made by musicians who are obviously in love with making music that they loved growing up and are more concerned with protecting and nurturing a musical heritage than chasing contemporary musical trends.