A wonderful mix of soul jazz, funky rhythms, and even more experimental moments – a truly tremendous effort from LA drummer Roy Porter, and the first set issued under the name of his Sound Machine group! The groove here is really unconventional – filled with unusual timings, phrasings, and changes that push it way beyond more familiar jazz funk of Prestige, Fantasy, or CTI – yet still all very much in the pocket, with a righteously soulful vibe that's incredible! The cover's inspired by Roy's son's love of motocross – and one number even features a bit of motorcycle sound effects along with the grooves! The rest of the tracks are heavier on the horns, and feature some wonderful arrangements that are filled with soul and style – always a bit edgey, and never too slick or straightforward. Titles include the classics "Funky Twitch" and "Hip City", plus "Drums for Daryl", "Ooh-La-La", and the legendary "Jessica", a really beautiful number! Comes with a great bonus 45 – the Kenny Dope remix of "Jessica", and a vocal version of the same tune! (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

The world of girl groups might seem cliched to some – but if you know where to look, you'll find a host of really amazing material – and that's definitely the case in this well-chosen set, a superb Ace Records package that's overflowing with material that goes way past the obvious! At some level, Ace are approaching the style in the reverse way of more mainstream collections – not starting with hits, then trickling down to obscurities – and instead pulling together unusual bits from a variety of indie labels that might have gotten otherwise overlooked, including a few cuts that were never issued at the time, mixed here with rock and soul gems from singles on labels like Keetch, Challenge, Bang, Mira, and Etiquette. As with their CD-length dips into the music, the quality here is superb – with 14 titles that include "Chu Sen Ling" by The Bermudas, "My Little Baby" by The Witches, "Tossin A Ice Cube" by The Hollywood Chicks, "Chico" by Linda Laurie, "A Dumb Song" by The Delicates, "Baby That's Me" by The Carolines, "Don't Worry About Me Baby" by Mayalta Page, "You May Be Holding My Baby" by The Pussycats, "I Wanna Know Right Now" by Carol Slade, "Sweet Kind Of Loneliness" by The Darlettes, and "My Baby Looks But He Don't Touch" by Carol Connors. LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic work from Durand Jones & The Indications – a group who've really come a long way in the past few years – in ways that push Durand's vocals to places we wouldn't have guessed on previous records! This set's way more than just a funk band with a soul singer upfront – as the whole thing's a fully-formed soul record through and through – with these larger arrangements that really add a lot, and open up all these righteous 70s currents mixed with a few contemporary flourishes that really give the album a very distinct sound! The songwriting is even better than before, too – and the group seems to have found a voice for themselves that's unlike any of their contemporaries. The record features guest work from Brandee Younger on harp and Joel Ross on vibes – and titles include "Love Will Work It Out", "Witchoo", "Reach Out", "Sexy Thang", "More Than Ever", "Private Space", "Sea Of Love", "I Can See", and "Ride Or Die". (Deep Funk, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album