to listen or purchase
When last we heard from Toussaint the Liberator – the stage name for Paul Barrett – he had just released the highly acclaimed reggae album Black Gold. I thought Black Gold was one of 2010’s best projects. That wasn’t bad for an Indiana native who grew up singing in the church before relocating to Boston. Once in Boston, Toussaint sang funk, blues, R&B and soul in a number of bands. He even joined the band Soulive for a yearlong stint in 2006.
After Black Gold, Toussaint hooked up with drummer Michael Henne and guitarist Jody Mosser, who were looking for something new after their band Dimestore broke up. With a vision that differed from the run of the mill R&B band, the trio brought in additional string musicians Jessica Sammis (cello) and Rebbecca Racusin (violin) and started the funk band Sol, whose new debut album is Senses.
When last we heard from Toussaint the Liberator – the stage name for Paul Barrett – he had just released the highly acclaimed reggae album Black Gold. I thought Black Gold was one of 2010’s best projects. That wasn’t bad for an Indiana native who grew up singing in the church before relocating to Boston. Once in Boston, Toussaint sang funk, blues, R&B and soul in a number of bands. He even joined the band Soulive for a yearlong stint in 2006.
After Black Gold, Toussaint hooked up with drummer Michael Henne and guitarist Jody Mosser, who were looking for something new after their band Dimestore broke up. With a vision that differed from the run of the mill R&B band, the trio brought in additional string musicians Jessica Sammis (cello) and Rebbecca Racusin (violin) and started the funk band Sol, whose new debut album is Senses.
Sammis and Racusin give Sol a unique sound. That can be heard in tunes such as “Mad at Love.” Cello and guitar introduce the cut “Mad at Love,” and the strings fuse the funk with classical and folk music and also fill a space normally occupied by a funk band’s horn section. But don’t get it twisted, Sol roots Senses firmly in the funk genre. The title track is a funk/rock amalgamation that features ends with Mosser’s blazing guitar solo. The cut finds Toussaint imploring a young lady to stop embracing the superficial and materialistic world that she sees on “reality TV.” He will be there waiting when she finally comes to her senses.
One reason why Black Gold proved to be such a solid recording is that Toussaint proved to be adept at handling tracks containing a social message. Senses finds Toussaint bringing that same polemical voice to the funk infused message music heard on Senses. The vocalist addresses the attitudes that send many of our young people in self-destructive directions in the song “People,” while “All the Same” explores the sad similarities of the prayer rallies and candlelight vigils that follow senseless acts of violence against women. “10,000 people parade/every candlelight vigil’s the same/somebody’s got a picture of their sister.”
It’s hard for a band such as Sol to break into the mainstream. The gatekeepers look for a certain sound, and bands are often an afterthought in mainstream R&B. It helps if a band has a distinct sound, and Sammis’ cello, Racusin’s violin and Toussaint’s muscular vocals endow Senses with attention grabbing elements. However, the factors that will allow Sol to break through cracked doors will be quality musical arrangements and strong lyricism. The band is two for two on those counts, and on Senses delivers one of the most unique and enjoyable albums of 2013. Recommended
By Howard Dukes