Tuesday 3 January 2017

Album: Oddsocks - The Sound of the City

Oddsocks The Sound of the City


Oddsocks - What You Trying


Info: Is it the start of 'Money for Nothing', 'Eye of the Tiger'? Nope, it's the opening of one of the funkiest Irish albums released in the last few years, courtesy of Dublin's Oddsocks and their LP, The Sound of the City, which was released in November just gone. The track? Above video 'What You Trying?', a sweet start to their funk-laden soulful album that gets you hook, line and sinker from the get-go.

There's no diversion to jazz territory on the second track which shares its name with the famous Miles Davis album, 'Birth of the Cool' (below stream) does however, cast itself back closer to a time when Miles was getting experimental himself. Here Oddsocks get deep down into a stellar 70's disco groove, and it's a crazy soulful affair that is chockablock with reference points that are too many to list, I think this could be my new favourite song.

'Gotta Get That Feeling' whirls through what feels like a Curtis Mayfield and Al Green medley, these chaps have been fully educated in the velvet arts of soul music, that is for sure. After this mellow respite, we find ourselves entering a different kind of sound, the soul strain is still there but on 'Saying Things' the band adopt a more indie-pop style, there's also little dashes of their contemporary Dublin solo act CC Brez. 

By the time you get to seventh track 'Just Like You' you realise Oddsocks have fairly evenly split The Sound of the City, with the first half slamming the funk in your face, and the latter half mellowing out considerably, with this track in particular taking on a more psychedelic rock sound, particularly towards it's end.

Oddsocks - Birth of the Cool

The album finishes with 'I Wanna Know', a mix of 80's synthpop and Billy Joel-esque vocals, and some very spacey hammond-playing, we've travelled quite some distance from the opener, but it's been nothing but a most enjoyable trip courtesy of a collective of solid musicians lighting the way for Irish fans of soul and funk.


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