What is it about soul music that makes it feel so, well, complete? I always feel like I’m getting the whole package when I listen to someone like Stevie Wonder or any artist that could fall under Motown. Even if the songs are about the deepest of the blues, I tend to wear a grin because there is something so universal to the sound.
It’s how I felt within seconds of listening to The Slims, full of warm familiarity and thoughtfully placed sounds.
Based out of Gainesville, Florida, the Slims are Travis Atria and Collin Whitlock, with a little help from their friends on backup vocals and strings. Their debut album “Killa Dilla” is a sort of mini-Odyssey of fictional soul singer Snooky Green (see song parentheticals) “through all the eras of soul music”. The band isn’t shy about their influences and why would they be? I think it works to their advantage. The sounds of Curtis Mayfield in one area and James Brown in another welcome you in to this unfamiliar territory so that songs like “Genghis Kahn’s Cavalry (Snooky Changes)” (incredible), which shows off more of the groups own unique style, are given a good and thorough listen.
I’ve been listening to “Lovey Dovey (Snooky Falls In Love)” non-stop over the last week. This is the single Phil Spector wished he could have, but never released. To be honest, I’m not sure it would have had the same flavor if it fell into his hands. The strings, the bass like a pumping heart, the jumpy piano percussion and dream-filtered vocals bring this song to life. Hearing snippets of string arrangements or the organ or horns is such a treat. Oh, and if you have recently gotten into Raphael Saadiq, for instance, check out “Do I Have To Do Everything? (Snooky Cheats on His Bottom Woman)” - I bet you’ll really, really like it.
The Slims’ sound jumps off the page, so to speak. It is absolutely kinetic. They’re the Squirrel Nut Zippers of soul, if I may say, in that there is a lot going on, but they know how to edit themselves and keep surprising us in the next song.
Check out the full stream of their album on Bandcamp and listen to it from start to finish to get the full story effect, though the songs live just as well on their own, too.
Connect with The Slims - Bandcamp | Facebook
The Slims – Killa Dilla (Snooky Meets The Girl)
The Slims – Lovey Dovey (Snooky Falls In Love)
