The London Souls - Here Come The Girls (2015)

1 	When I'm With You 	03:44
2 	Steady 	03:23
3 	Hercules 	03:09
4 	Alone 	04:09
5 	All Tied Down 	03:04
6 	Isabel 	03:33
7 	Crimson Revival 	02:37
8 	Honey 	03:07
9 	The River 	02:21
10 	How Can I Get Through 	02:21
11 	Valerie 	02:40
12 	Bobby James 	02:53
13 	Run Zombie Run 	03:29

Tash Neal - guitar, vocals
Chris St. Hilaire - drums, vocals

The London Souls’ unique reinterpretation of classic hard-hitting rock and roll formulae recalls elements of the past with an ever-present boundless energy, fit to cement their place in the future. Tash and Chris have been nothing short of a best-kept secret among New York City concertgoers since the bands formation in 2008, building a fervent and dynamic fan base leveraged by their ever sustained reputation for consistently well-rehearsed and impassioned, explosive live performances. The band’s celebrated sound and spirit draws significant influence from the driving force of British rock pioneers Cream and Led Zeppelin to billowing and bouncing funk and soul, to the layered harmonies and memorable hooks of The Beatles and The Hollies, to the contemporary psychedelia of My Morning Jacket among many more. ---thelondonsouls.com

These guys aren’t doing anything new, at all, but they have made a great sounding, fun album full of 1960s style soul/garage/rock. It’s deftly produced and richly instrumentalised (guitar, thick bottom heavy bass, keys, drums, and vocals) and stinks of thrift stores and ironic hats. It’s also a fun, head-bob inducing record.

Do you remember that Kia commerical a few years ago with the giant puppets driving the car to the tune of The Heavy’s “How You Like Me Now?” Well, these guys sound just like that. The vocals are pretty much perfect, and the rhythm section is grade A. Seriously, the drums sound amazing.

None of these songs really exceeds 4 minutes. The London Souls keeps things pretty tidy and moving along at a decent clip. Nothing overstays its welcome. It’s a fun, easy to consume listen. Sometimes fun, dumb, pop-rock is all you need. – Jason

When I’m With You – Do you remember that movie “That Thing You Do?” The chorus of this tune sounds like something The Woneders would have done. It’s ultra catchy and saccharine-sweet. It’s super polished and I think people who like Bruno Mars would probably like this tune.

Steady – Whew, this is a cool tune. It’s Led Zeppelin-esque in its swagger, just struttin like no one else in town has any business being there. The bass and drums are killing it here. Ugh. There’s even a Page-style lead. Cool song. I’m really digging this one.

Hercules – This one has got a really busy, clean-guitar riff and a simple, foot stomping kick-sound. It sounds like Cat Stevens. I like how the drums pick up near the end and play a busy shuffling rhythm to play the song out. Fun.

Alone – The dirty electric guitar is back up front on this one, but the keys on the left channel are the best detail. The vocal is once again perfectly executed. This one reminds me a lot of Man Man in the big picture. I don’t know if the chorus fits the verse as well as it should. It’s a good song.They rock out a little near the end, but sensibly – they don’t want to alienate anyone.

All Tied Down – The bass line is great throughout and I’m really digging the chorus on this one. The jammout starting at 2:40 is great. The opening guitar is dirty and ugly. When the verse kicks in, there’s a Beatles-esque sound to it. The bass and drums are again a beast. Great tune.

Isabel – Starting off with a guitar that plays a really familiar bit, this one is pretty sounding but not very exciting. This one is defintely all about the vocal melody, which is lovely. I do like the string buzz here and there for the “liveliness” it adds to the tune. This is a nice, chill tune.

Crimson Revival – This one starts off sounding like something from The Fratellis or The Kaiser Chiefs, or even something from Beck’s “Mutations”. It’s catchy but not a knock-out. It’s an ok song.

Honey – Alright, this tune kicks off with a slick, slide blues-guitar lick that goes on to provide the basis for the song. As a blues jam, it’s okay. It kind of reminds me of Lenny Kravitz a bit, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. The drums continue to sound fantastic. The guitar solo section sounds huge thanks to this wrecking crew rhythm section.

The River – Hey, this song starts off like Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz as far as the drums are concerned. The chorus feels like it owes a lot to Jack White. I like the wordy, syllable-bounce to the verse vocals. The tune feels thinner than the other tracks, though, thanks to some light, jangly strumming over some poppy bass. Where’s the beef? This tune doesn’t do much for me.

How Can I Get Through – This tune is real light and flitty with an incessant upper octave strumming below the vocals. What then sounds like an upright (or at least a fretless) bass joins in, accompanied by a horn (and clarinet?!). This suddenly sounds like Squirrel Nut Zippers or early Avett Bros. Where did this come from?! It’s a fun little diddy and I like it, but it’s weird in the context of the album. There’s none of the British charm that the record has been aping up to this point, as this is straight-up Americana.

Valerie – Okay, we’re back to a dirty little garage riff opening this tune. The chorus has a darkness to the vocal melody that I like. Again, the bass is grooving here. Then they bust out the phaser on the drums and get weird before reprising the chorus on the way out. This is a good song.

Bobby James – Here’s some country-by-way-of-NYC-in-1970. I’m not feeling this much at all. The chorus is catchy, but the verse is kind of contradictory. The bass line is happy sounding while the lyrics seem to paint a sad story. It kind of sinks it a bit for me. The chorus fits the tone much better. This one strongly reminds me of Loggins & Messina. Meh.

Run Zombie Run – The title of this song set me up to expect more of a rocking tune, but the reality is a lush, acoustic tune. Vocally, I’m reminded here of Rod Stewart. It’s a pretty sounding song, up until about the three minute mark when they suddenly pick up the pace and briefly sound like a roots-revival swing band again. ---supercorrupter.wordpress.com

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