It makes perfect sense, Matt, and as a result I think it's a very approachable album. Her voice is excellent. I'll post a more detailed review at some point, but I've had two full listens, plus extra listens of some of my favourites off the album (Sideway Shuffle, Teardrops, The High Road, Looking for Sugar) and I am enjoying it.
C'mon people let's give this album a little more love. Aidan is sure to be celebrating a fun-filled day of World Cup victory, and I'm sure he'd appreciate us dedicating some more time to his selection.
Great start to the album with "I Got The...", it pulled me in straight away. The arrangement is very similar to the original, but with a modern feeling. I can tell that this album is going to be right up my street. The original was sampled in Eminem's "My Name Is" and obviously features here too, very distinct rhythm and I love this part of the song. "Give More Power To The People" and "...Looking for Sugar" are both excellent covers too. Love that prominent bass in the former. "Sideway Shuffle" sees Joss blow the original out of the water, for me. "I Don't Want To Be With Nobody But You" is ok, not as strong as what's gone before it I'm afraid. doesn't really do anything for me. "Teardrops" is a popular track and I've found myself enjoying The xx's take on this track a lot recently, so I was interested to hear yet another take on it. A perfectly good cover, my only isue is something in the musical arrangement that sounds like it's been ripped from Phoenix Nights, but I am willing to look beyond that. "Stoned Out Of My Mind" is the second Chi-Lites track to be covered on this album and Joss really does leave her mark on this one. "The Love We Had" is so good. Amazing vocal delivery. Wow. As I've mentioned before, I like this cover of "The High Road". On first inspection, it seemed bold to have such a recent song on there amongst all of these old classics, but it fits in well. I love her voice in "Pillow Talk", it's so smooth. "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" is a very typical album closer (not a bad thing). It rounds off this collection of covers perfectly,
I'm not going to review the various bonus tracks, however I will just single out "First Taste of Hurt". I would've liked to have heard that on the album.
Overall, a very enjoyable listen. I'd definitely listen to this again and will be looking for Soul Sessions, Vol. 1 next.
Top three tracks:
1. The Love We Had (Stays On My Mind)
2. Sideway Shuffle
3. The High Road
"I've been digging this band a lot lately called GEMS. They're from Washington, a duo that toured around as a folk act for a number of years before finally throwing in the towel. They stumbled upon some software that enabled them to explore new sounds, using drums without a drummer etc., and now they have a totally new image and sound. I didn't follow them or anything when they were a folk act. I saw them open for another artist I'm a huge fan of earlier this year and was blown away. They have this sort of haunted, romantic electro-pop-hop thing going on and it's really cool. Singer has a beautiful voice as well and the guy's guitar playing is unique, minimalist and interesting."
At just 4 tracks / 17 mins, this should be an easy listen for us, so lets make sure we all keep participating! This thread has been a lot of fun, so let's not let it die...we're all discovering such great new music, and even though we have all chosen relatively popular music, Alex has given us a great opportunity to look into a lesser known act that may deserve some serious recognition.
Really looking forward to this one, man - thanks for the recommendation and for contributing to the thread!
Yeah they have a great sound. Like I said, I was floored when I saw them live. Opening acts always have to kind of earn the audience's attention, and they totally did. I've seen an audience ignore opening acts, talk during, but as soon as GEMS started getting into their set everyone was completely attentive. They were fantastic.
You should check out their other songs via their soundcloud. "All I Ever", "Never Age", and "Pegasus" are fantastic too. "Scars" is one they just released a week or two ago. I'd see them again in a flash.
