ST PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES
The Alien Coast ATO
Alabama-based octet conjures R&B from another planet
6/10
Over three albums, St Paul & The Broken Bones established themselves as deft modern-day purveyors of vintage Southern soul, with singer Paul Janeway and the three-piece horn section providing spot-on period detail. But with The Alien Coast, the band breaks out of its preservationist niche and rockets toward parts unknown. The fittingly titled LP is unremittingly warped; the horns are abandoned, while Jesse Phillips’ roof-rattling, frequently synthesised basslines share centrestage with Janeway’s haunted vocals on lysergic soundscapes like “Minotaur” and “Popcorn Ceiling”. Amid all this weirdness, the sleek disco banger “The Last Dance” stands out like a beacon in a cave, lighting the way toward a more sustainable reinvention.