Solidly socking soul from Chicago – a great little set recorded with a really old school feel, but one that's also different than the usual deep funk record! The Uptown Sound have a vibe that's all their own – at one level, a quality that's steeped in classic soul – but at another, with a quality that's strangely offbeat too, almost with an undercurrent of darkness in some of the instrumentation that somehow mixes slight punkish roots into funk! Lead singer JC Brooks follows suit strongly – hitting topics that aren't your usual soul music standards, even though his vocals would be right at home with such fare – and instead, the album's got a range of themes that really keep an edge to the set, of the sort that's bound to find these guys a large audience way outside the usual deep funk underground. JC's a real superstar – even larger on stage, which is a recommendation to catch the group live! Titles include "Love One Another", "Hold You Back", "75 Years Of Art Sex", "How To Stop Loving Someone Who's Stopped Loving You", "He Does The Town", and "Berry Please". CD

That's a real Roger Dean-styled image on the cover, which maybe heralds the sound that's going on here for the Budos Band – an approach that's even heavier than before, with maybe stronger guitar and bass at times – yet a vibe that still bristles with the group's great use of percussion and horns! There's maybe a new sort of majesty going on here – as if someone whispered to the band that they could be at the top of the deep funk spectrum if they stepped on the gas a bit more – which they definitely do on this super-sharp set, delivering a half-dozen tunes that are completely smoking throughout! Titles include "Devil Doesn't Dance", "Kritn", "Crescent Blue", "Passage To Ashinol", "Curled Steel", and "Frontier's Edge". CD

The most uncategorizable grooves in the canon of Guillermo Scott Herren – his Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and otherwise keys-and-drums centered Piano Overlord guise – and a collection of rare vinyl singles cut from 03-05! Maestro Scott wrote, plays, and produced all the tracks – done with lots of keys, drums and samples – and range from abstract atmospherics to a more rollicking, beat driven approach. Tracks include "Walk Home", "Another Marion B Moment", "Spring's Arrival", "Spring's Demise", "Agorophobia", "Recuerdas?", "Stay Home", "Intermission Thing", "Running JCH For All His Beats And Jewels", "Triste Maita", "You Stole My Stereo Outro", "Diplo Electric Manatee Final Mixdown", "The Overlord Meets The Adventure Time In Sleepy Keys", "Agorophobia (Count Bass D interpretation)" and "No Community (Blu Jemz K Kings version)". CD

The title definitely gets it right – as this set's certainly a unique Christmas collection – one filled with original tunes in a funk and soul mode, all by artists who normally record for the Unique Records label! There's a nice retro soul vibe running through the set – a vibe that's similar to the recent deep funk direction that Unique has taken, and which makes the collection a great companion to some of the Holiday records from Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings! Titles include "Christmas Time Baby" by The Soul Snatchers, "When The Winter Comes" by Palace Fever, "Relax & Love" by Glen Anthony Henry, "These Little Things" by Al Supersonic & The Teenagers, "Blackout" by Impuls, "Beautiful" by The Sweet Vandals, and "Christmas Day With Me" by Laura Vane & The Vipertones. (Holiday Music, Deep Funk) CD

A damn funky little album – and one of the best new records on Stones Throw in years! Connie Price & The Keystones are a modern group – but one who's steeped in all the older messed-up funky styles of their Stones Throw labelmates. There's a wonderfully tripped-out sound to their work – taking the core instrumentation of funky drums, choppy guitars, smoking keyboards, and soulful sax – and pushing it out with a Stark Reality-ish vibe that really makes the group stand out from the rest of the deep funk underground! The album's a brilliant debut that we'll be digging for years – and it also feature appearances by Malcolm Catto, and members of Funk Inc, Poets Of Rhythm, and The LA Carnival! Titles include "Sticks & Stones", "Sucker Punch", "The Buzzard", "Double Dutch", "Wild Flowers", "Tall Dry Grass", "Fuzz & Them", and "The Shadows Of Leaves". CD