Armed with a full-fledged weaponry of new music, St. Paul & The Broken Bones are ready to prove to Phoenix that they have mastered soul music once again.
On Sept. 15, the Alabama band will take the Crescent Ballroom stage to follow the Sept. 9 release of its second album, “Sea of Noise.” Joined by opening band Seratones, the newly expanded eight-piece is sure to bring concertgoers a unique performance, if its latest tracks are any hint.
With “Sea of Noise” comes the band’s biggest development yet. St. Paul & The Broken Bones tell a story of hope lost and hope gained, entangled with debate about real-world issues and love. From start to finish, the musicians wisely weave “Crumbling Light Posts” into three parts as intriguing pit stops on a brilliant auditory journey.
This somewhat concept-based songwriting is the structure behind the incredible lyricism within the 13 tracks. Midway through the album, “Waves” incorporates modern predicaments into smart, well-crafted verses as vocalist Paul Janeway preaches about the “sanctuary we find in all our glowing screens” and his belief that “there ain’t love no more, just bullets and hate,” despite a world of prayers. Soon after “Waves” delivers the greatest, gospel-inspired chorus of the album, “Is It Me” takes home the silver in the lyrics department by responding to insecurity and doubt with “Is it hell, is it home or is it me?”
St. Paul & the Broken Bones don’t have to succumb to adding superfluous pop flairs and electronic beats to show that they certainly know how to make ’60s soul fresh again. This skill announces itself moments into the album’s groove-worthy track, “Flow With It (You Got Me Feeling Like).” It flourishes once “All I Ever Wonder” comes into play. Within this single, Janeway gives listeners a prime taste of his niche power vocals to narrate a politically and mentally torn story, while brass and drum instrumentals lead purposeful crescendos.
While the best soul music can only be the result of careful navigation between elegant melodies and heavy instrumentals, St. Paul & the Broken Bones give the aged genre justice in its revival. “I’ll Be Your Woman” is the best example of a balanced band and smooth vocals, while “Sanctify” strengthens the vocals with a powerhouse of brass that would blow any small jazz venue away. “Burning Rome” brings an incredible, soulful vocalization of true sadness, accompanied by varying keyboard and trumpet melodies.
Close to the album’s conclusion, “Tears in the Diamond” shocks as the true underdog of the album. It’s extremely catchy with powerful, controlled vocals. Keyboard elements perfectly intertwine with the rest of the band’s outputs, creating a power anthem that calls for all to feel free and “let it go.”
There are flaws. Janeway’s vocals are susceptible to being overpowered by big band-inspired jazz tunes, as in the otherwise fantastically produced, falsetto-filled “Midnight on Earth.” Even the vocal crescendos of the beautiful “Sanctify” are often dulled by the tendency of the brass instruments to rise exponentially higher in volume. In “Brain Matter,” the inimitability of the track is shadowed by odd pauses that make for overly apparent transitions between different tempos and vibes.
But despite a need to find a balance between each of their members — a search that has already progressed between its 2014 “Half the City” debut and “Sea of Noise” — each flaw appears minuscule in the end, when compared to the entire exemplary album that St. Paul & the Broken Bones presents.
Contact the columnist at Emily.Liu@asu.edu.
