black vinyl version - Even if you are an ardent fan of soul and somebody tells you that Durand Jones & The Indications have a new album out called American Love Call, this might mean nothing to you. After all, this is only their second album, and the first one came out back in 2012, quite a few years apart in these times. The fact that both are out on a specialist soul label Colemine Records won’t change much.
But then, play just a few notes from the brilliant opener “Morning In America” and you’ll realise that you’ve certainly heard these guys before and that you’re really glad they’re back! You see, Durand Jones & The Indications embody everything that ‘old school’ soul means in the best meaning of the term - all those Motown tunes, Marvin Gaye at his best, combined with Willie Mitchell and his Hi Studio productions and Chicago/Philly vocal harmonies of Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions and The Stylistics, with George Clinton early Funkadelic guitar fuzz thrown in here and there for good measure. For all those more familiar with the recent ‘old school’ soul revival, think late Sharon Jones or Charles Bradley at their best.
With all those names mentioned, there was a serious chance this could have turned into a musical hodgepodge with just a dash of soul flavour. No way. Driven by the dual vocals of Jones and the band’s drummer/composer Aaron Frazer, the band eat, drink and sleep soul and sound as if they have digested completely every single element of the sounds and made it their own, coming up with something so familiar. To top it off, they don’t limit their message to just ‘sweet thang’, but have some biting social commentary to bring, like in the aforementioned “Morning in America” (“It is morning in America, but I don’t see the dawn”).
Don’t say you’ve not heard of Durand Jones & The Indications after this album, you certainly have. Or at least you should.
| A1 | Morning In America | 3:51 |
| A2 | Don't Know You | 3:20 |
| A3 | Circles | 3:18 |
| A4 | Court Of Love | 3:44 |
| A5 | Long Way Home | 3:21 |
| A6 | Too Many Tears | 2:11 |
| B1 | Walk Away | 3:37 |
| B2 | What I Know About You | 3:53 |
| B3 | Listen To Your Heart | 4:29 |
| B4 | Sea Gets Hotter | 3:17 |
| B5 | How Can I Be Sure | 3:52 |
| B6 | True Love | 3:42 |
