I’ve been waiting ages for the follow up album by British funketeers Crowd Company and it was worth the wait – the album is a brilliant example of retro soul and funk with a bright sheen and real verve to the groove.
Lead vocals from Joanne Marshall & Esther Dee, horns from Chris Rand & Henry Spencer coupled with Claudio Corona’s Hammond and Robert Fleming’s guitar and the whole piece driven by Emil Engstrom’s bass and Robin Lowrey’s drums – every track has a powerful sense of the dance groove.
I got the definite sense that they are working as a collective – every element is essential to their sound and the music seems to be greater because of the lack of ego in the band.
The pace ebbs and flows and the rhythms chop and change but the overall result is a series of highly danceable numbers that left me exhausted – a powerful workout.
There are a few standout numbers – the sumptuous ‘Let Me Be’, sexy and sassy with great lead vocals that seem to hit points on the spectrum normally only accessible to bats or ‘Soar’ starting from a funky keyboard line and building into a monster as the horns and Hammond swoop in to the break.
All round, one of the best examples of modern British funk and a standout in a busy scene. Welcome back.
