Nothing can knock down barriers like music. After being schooled in Motown, funk, reggae and rock, a move to New York City found Felice Rosser fully embracing punk and it’s liberating aspect allowed her to pull her musical lineage into a collective whole. Along with her band FaithNYC Felice teams up with Robert Plant and Tinariwen collaborator Justin Adams to deliver a funky, soulful record that’s powered by post-punk pugnaciousness along with plenty of vim and vigour.
For a scene that professed “anarchy” and “freedom”, punk rock soon became codified and shackled by a myriad of rules with the studded leather becoming a kind of straight jacket. That’s where the freedom of post-punk comes in and it’s put to great use by FaithNYC on funky opener ‘Love Is A Wish Away’. With an insanely catchy groove, it’s powered by the type of beat that demands you move your body. Earwormy and addictive, it’ll burrow itself to the centre of your cranium, and it won’t be leaving anytime soon. It’s the kind of song which feels as if it could continue into perpetuity and ride that good groove right into the sunset, yet part of the band’s power comes from knowing just how far to ride that rodeo and quit while they’re ahead; it’s all about leaving the listener hungry for more, and that’s precisely what each of these nine tracks do.
Perhaps Love Is A Wish Away’s greatest strength is it’s diversity; no two tracks sound alike and it is this constant evolution that keeps the listener fully engaged (even in this age of distraction). Subsequently, the upbeat ‘I Stood Up’ merges into the stark ‘Eagle Street’ which in turn morphs into ‘Can I Make It Up To You’ and the band’s genius is making the transition silky smooth. In fact, this is the kind of album that sweeps the listener along and, despite the constant sonic shifts, feels like a flowing allegro and that’s primarily due to Felice Rosser’s powerful, authoritative vocals which act as a common thread that stitches the songs together. On an album that never fails to throw up surprises, a slab of Bad Brains-styled reggae brings to album to a thunderous conclusion, but when dealing with FaithNYC, you should always expect the unexpected.
An artist with a rich past, Love Is A Wish Away signposts a bright future.
- Love Is A Wish Away is released via Good Deeds Music on 22nd November 2024.
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Track List:
- Love Is A Wish Away
- I Stood Up
- Eagle Street
- Can I Make It Up To You
- Love In A Silent Way
- Useless
- Everything Is Always Around You
- Overpass
- Climbing All The Way To Zion
