Album of the Week: Tink Winter's Diary 3

In the shadow of all the press Drake has been getting the past couple weeks because of his "beef" with Meek Mill, it's worth noting that Tink (an artist who excels at all the same things that made Drake so big) quietly released her latest mixtape, Winter's Diary 3, and I'm here to tell you the thing absolutely goes. It serves as a gorgeous soul album, a display of Tink's lyrical prowess, and shows why it's only a matter of time before everyone knows her name.

At the early age of 20, Tink has already nailed down a sonic style and approach that allows both room to explore her delivery and keeps her growing and adapting, which is no small feat. She sounds completely in her element over these beats, all snapping 808s and icy piano lines. When she switches the tempo up so she can rap on tracks like "L.E.A.S.H.," there are some fantastic world music elements woven throughout for her to play with. This kind of music is the stuff Noah Shebib has been providing for Drake on the regular for years, and Tink makes her home on it with the same confident ease Drake does. Tink goes even further, nudging her sounds into different territories, and I'm eager to hear what kind of producers she brings into her orbit as she grows.

What really sets Tink apart from the many other aspiring soul up-and-comers is her lyrics, which take the typical narrative you'll find in R&B and rap, and bends them to her version. Take "Stripclub," a simmering bump-and-grind number that gets into the head and motivations behind the kind of dancer rappers are so often serenading. Lines like "Mama said you wanna be grown you're on your own/But now she's at Red Diamond, every weekend she's shinning/Trying to make ends for the kid," peel back the layers to show a woman struggling to make it in a world where her opportunities are limited.

The best song here is "I Like," a gorgeous tweak of Chief Keef's "I Don'tLike," that details the things Tink appreciates about her current lover. Amidst the lyrics about his sweetness and loyalty, there are lines like "But he holds it down, stands his ground, play his move/Doesn't rush to get into my body," that show a man who respects a woman's choices, moves at her pace and doesn't pressure her. In a time when more and more people are pointing out the damages of patriarchy and the sexualization of women, lyrics that highlight the importance of equality like this are even more critical, and Tink performs it beautifully.

When the biggest complaint you have against a piece of music is that it's far too short (the album is just around half-an-hour), you know you've got something special on your hands. I'm hoping the brevity means she's working on something big for us soon, and everyone should be excited to hear what she has cooking. We're witnessing the artistic birth of someone important – pay attention.

Winter's Diary 3 is available now. Download it here.

Also recommended this week:

Gregg Allman's live album, Back to Macon, GA.

Mac DeMarco’s lovely acoustic gem, Another One.

HEALTH's dark punk album, Death Magic.

Album of the Week: Leon Bridges Coming Home

Sam Cooke is my favorite singer of all time. His warmth, music, vocal range, tones – all of it was and is perfect, and his is the voice by which I judge all of my other favorite singers.

All of this is perhaps why I was at first a little unsettled, then incredibly delighted, when I heard Leon Bridges, because, holy shit, does he channel Sam Cooke.

Bridges' debut album, Coming Home, is a homage to Cooke and other artists of the era who built soul music into the genre we know today. Bridges has the voice, the instrumentation and the confidence to conjure up a legend without sounding like he's just ripping him off, and even if the album doesn't break any new ground, it establishes Bridges as a talent to watch. It just so happens to be perfect summer music, as well.

The best two songs on the album are opener "Coming Home," and closer "River," which allow Bridges to plant his feet firmly in the romantic and spiritual side of soul music. Timelessness is what Bridges is going for, and he's certainly on the right track. His judicious and exhilarating use of guitars, horns and backing vocals all contribute to expand the sonic world Bridges' lives in. 

"Coming Home" shows just what Bridges' voice can do when, after the fuzzy guitar and backing vocals of the opening, most of the sound drops away and his honeyed voice echoes out through the void. It's a goosebump-inducing moment that the track builds on, never getting too far away from that sweet soul spot. It is completely understandable why it was chosen as the first single for the album, and serves as a fantastic gateway to the sound Bridges is aiming for.

You can't quite say "River" is Bridges' shot at something like "A Change is Gonna Come," but it certainly shows Bridges has his eyes on creating something that will stand the test of time. The song features just an acoustic guitar, a tambourine and fantastic gospel vocals (including a sublime female vocalist at the end, whose voice works beautifully with Bridges). This is probably Bridges' finest vocal work on the album, and he sends his voice soaring with lines like, "In my darkness I remember/Momma's word reoccur to me:/'Surrender to the good Lord/And he’ll wipe your slate clean.'" It's a spiritual song in the same way "A Change is Gonna Come" is, and while there is no overtly political reference, there's a weariness and desperation for forgiveness that is gut-wrenching. It's a prime example of the power of American songwriting, both tapping into the past and projecting out into a timeless future.

Don't get the impression the rest of Coming Home is filler, because there is a lot to love about the eight songs between the beginning and the end. There's almost a punk ethos to the album (which is actually a soul ethos) in that it cranks by at just over half-an hour. The songs somehow race by at a leisurely pace, and there's only two that hit the four-minute mark. Bridges still manages to pour buckets of fun into each, including the swinging "Flowers" and shuffling groove of "Brown Skin Girl." None of these songs would sound out of place in a 60's sockhop, but they all sound so warm and lived in, that they're just a comfortable now.

I'm a major sucker for "Lisa Saywer" (a song either for or about his mother), which has this smooth groove thing down pat, and the track is carried by some truly gorgeous saxophone work, while Bridges' voice drips all over the damn thing like honey. The song has some call-backs to Cooke's "Only Sixteen," but is far more relaxed than anything Cooke ever did. It shows Bridges' can take familiar sounds, and push them in different directions.

Coming Home is going to be just the start for Bridges, and if he can channel more of the contemporary sounds all around him into his influences, he could easily build a new soul sound for everyone to use. Just like Sam Cooke did.

Coming Home is out on Columbia.

Also recommended this week:

Kacey Musgraves' stunning sophomore country album, Pageant Material.

Cayucas' take on 70's yacht rock, Dancing at the Blue Lagoon.

Album of the Week: Alabama Shakes Sound & Color

Vibes, man. If there's one thing the Alabama Shakes sophomore album, Sound & Color, has in spades, it's vibes.

The vibes is the first instrument listeners hear on opener "Sound & Color," as Brittany Howard and company conjure up nighttime sonicscapes and images with minimal instrumentation, making use of strings and almost no guitars to build the scene. It's a thesis statement for the album as a whole, and shows the group isn't ready to fit into any one particular genre. 

Sound & Color's vibe is a bit moody, and a little all over the place – the group ignores the idea of creating a cohesive collection, and instead samples a menagerie of styles: from Stax soul to Zeppelin-rock, Ramones punk and back again, there is little in the way of common denominators throughout, save for Howard's wrecking ball of a voice, which can be as silky or knock-the-walls-down as she wants.

Take the little exaltation Howard makes at the beginning of first single, "Don't Wanna Fight" – I mean, what is that? A shriek? A scream? A squeal? I have no idea what it is, or how she does it, but it's a moment capable of flooring you, and it happens just 38 seconds in to the song.

There's nothing as radio-friendly as their breakout hit "Hold On," and I think it's encouraging the Shakes seemed to have jettisoned any interest in becoming a radio mainstay, and instead are content being discontent with one vibe.

Nodding to early soul and R&B has been a part of the group's sound – and appeal – since their first EP, but this album feels older than anything they've done before. I think it's the focus on, and fluidity of, mood on Sound & Color. There are no wailing guitar solos – rather stretches of experimentation, like the mid-song breakdown on "Dunes," which wouldn't be out of place on a Wilco record. Or check out "Gimme All Your Love," which features some of Howard's most powerful vocals on the album, with a "Since I've Been Loving You" momentum-builder, sans any kind of typical rock or blues solo. When it comes, it's heavy on the reverb, almost like a Black Keys lick, before slamming back into Howard's wail. Again, the song has its own vibe and stays true to that.

I think my favorite Alabama Shakes is torch song Alabama Shakes, and we get a delightful one-two punch of them with "This Feeling" and "Guess Who." At this point, it's entirely possible "This Feeling" is the best song on the album, if for no other reason because it goes down so goddamn sweetly. It's just an acoustic guitar, hand drumming, tinkling keys and Howard's voice doing the rest.

The biggest outlier is "The Greatest," which, if nothing else, shows Howard would make a great singer for a punk band any time she wants. It's a little out of step with the rest of the pieces here, but I can't fault the Shakes too much, because they're experimenting – they're trying to find out what elements of a plethora of genres they can use, and I'm fine with that.

I can't really say I love Sound & Color yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if I do before long. It's not an instant classic, one that you immediately hit replay on when the final track ends, but it has the growth appeal. I've found myself listening to it at least once a day, and I'm picking up new things with each new listen. The Alabama Shakes are in a truly interesting position right now – they achieved a tremendous amount of success off their first effort, and now they have to figure out what that means, and where to go next. They're dabbling with sounds and colors on the album, but even the experiments show promise of greater things to come. As Howard (correctly) notes on closer "Over My Head," "here for now/but not for long."

Until then, they (and I) are happy to just keep vibing.

Sound & Color is out on ATO.

Do you have soul? That all depends...

I thought I would have my first post here by about one of the great American art forms: Soul Music. I’m not talking about modern R&B – though I will touch on that near the end of this entry – but the classic soul singers who were pioneers in both music and civil rights.
Soul, like most American – truly American – music had its roots in the blues and jazz. It would not be far off at all to call the early jazz singers like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan the forerunners of the great soul singers. Of course, right before soul you had the early Doo-Wop groups like the Mills Brothers, The Platters and The Drifters, just to name a few in a musical category that doesn’t get near enough respect.
When the great soul singers started appearing in the ‘60s, along with the folk scene and rock and roll, these musicians had an opportunity that many African-Americans didn’t at the time: the penetrated into the very heart of white suburbia. You had the crooners – Sinatra, Bennett, Como and Martin – and then these talented musicians, who were in many cases, the only interactions that white America had with black culture in an acceptable way. What Elvis and the emerging rock scene was doing was taking black music and morphing it into something totally new – and frightening – to many of the older generation. Soul however, through its popularity with all ages, allowed for black culture to get its foot in the door of white sensibilities.
So, what is so attractive about soul music? To begin with, there are the vocals, which drives the music. In almost no other genre of music will you find musicians with the vocal range and diversity that you find in soul. True, the artists have a tendency to have a common, velvety vocal sound, usually more smooth than anything, but that is by no means the norm. Listen to James Brown growl his way through “Papa’s Got A New Bag,” or Aretha Franklin’s tart, no-nonsense delivery of Otis Redding’s “Respect.” Still, there is something soothing and utterly beautiful about the genre. It is the way that these beautiful vocals mix with the lush music that often serves as a backdrop. The music behind soul is always beautifully driven by a fantastic beat – see The Temptations’ “My Girl” as a definitive example of this. The music that came of Motown played by The Funk Brothers is totally engaging and underrated. Some of the best love songs ever are soul songs: from Etta James’ “At Last” to Stevie Wonder’s “You Are The Sunshine of My Life” you’re not going to go to any kind of wedding or dance, without getting some soul played.
As much as this is one of my favourite aspects of soul music, this tendency toward love songs has hurt the genre, because many believe that’s all that there is to it. Those people aren’t playing close enough attention to songs like Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” and Marvin Gaye’s seminal album, What’s Going On. These musicians were using their music as a message of change and awareness long after the protest-folk music scene had died at Bob Dylan’s hands in Newport.
Since it’s heyday, soul has morphed over the years into funk, smooth jazz and R&B, and these style’s roots have a tendency to be forgotten. These tributaries from the River Soul certainly have their good qualities, but give me the classics any day.
Ever since its arrival, soul could be felt all over the musical environment, often in places that people would not expect. Sinatra and his lot certainly borrowed from it, and tell me you don’t hear the stirrings of soul in Elvis’ music. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones certainly kept the music of James Brown and Otis Redding in mind, and Van Morrison drops names like Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and Jackie Wilson on a regular basis in his music. Listen to Dusty Springfield’s Dusty in Memphis and you can literally feel the passion she had for making to great a soul-sounding record. The reggae of Bob Marley, especially on songs like “Three Little Birds,” is soul with a Jamaican spin. Imagine classics like Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young,” The Band’s “It Makes No Difference” and Jim Hendrix’s “Little Wing” and think of how easily – and beautifully – they would translate into soul songs.
In contemporary music, you have the emulators who are trying to bring the sounds of old soul back – the best of the lot include John Legend, Musiq Soulchild, Alicia Keys and Corinne Bailey Rae – and those who have taken soul and blended it into their own sound. Listen to “I’m Gonna Find Another You,” the last cut on John Mayer’s Continuum and tell me he didn’t get that from an old Smokey Robinson album, or the music of My Morning Jacket, particularly on the albums It Still Moves and Z, which fuse soul with southern blues and progressive rock. Artists like Amy Winehouse and Duffy are taking the soul sound that Dusty Springfield was trying to create and giving it a modern, British twist. Modern crooners like Michael Bublé regularly dip into the soul songbook and hip-hop artists like Kanye West, Common and Lupe Fiasco regularly sample from soul standards, as did Run D.M.C. and the other early hip-hop artists. Comedy acts, like the brilliantly talented Flight of the Conchords from New Zealand parody to great effect Marvin Gaye’s social music on “Think About It.”
Soul is a genre that has withstood the test of time, not only with class and style, but with a staying power that puts it echelons above much of what is considered “classic music.” For something that reaches into you and changes you, makes your heart skip a beat or appreciate a summer’s afternoon, there’s nothing like soul.

Here’s a list of soul classics and what makes them stand as towers of the genre:

“Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I)” – Ray Charles Sextet (1960) – Ray Charles

Charles’ delivery on this heartbreaking song is what makes it hit like a sledgehammer. The song begins with Charles using his signature, Nat King Cole-esque over a beautiful piano and a simple background of bass and drums. The saxophone and piano solo in the middle hardly prepares the listener for the vocal bomb that Charles is about to drop. With the second two verses, Charles’ voice becomes an aching wail, gravely and so emotional it hurts; this is a song from a man who has firsthand experience in what he is singing about: loss and hard times – the song’s name is not an accident.

“The Track of My Tears” – Going to A Go-Go (1965) – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

This song is one that anyone who has been burned by love can relate two. Robinson sings in his creamy voice about a man putting on a charade of being happy and moving on after a break-up, but as he sings, “Look closer and see the tracks of my tears.” The music behind him is swelling and lush, the perfect blend of poetry and music, with the Miracles hitting all the right notes on the background vocals. This is one of the group’s biggest hits, and once again showing the power of soul, had a profound impact on rock. Pete Townshend – the genius behind The Who – became so obsessed with the way Robinson sung the word “substitute” that he wrote a song to celebrate it, according to Rolling Stone magazine. If one word can have that kind of power, imagine what the whole song can do.

“Crusin’” – Where There’s Smoke… (1979) – Smokey Robinson

There’s nothing not romantic about this song. Listen to the lyrics about a man that doesn’t want just a one-night stand, but a whole life with a woman. Robinson’s vocals are both pleading and earnest, and the strings in the background make this a must for a romantic drive, a romantic dinner…essentially, a romantic anything. It’s no wonder that Gwenyth Paltrow and Huey Lewis’ version of the song for the film Duets was a hit: with material like this, its hard to imagine it being anything but.

“Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)” – Let Me In Your Life (1974) – Aretha Franklin

Everybody knows Franklin’s unstoppable versions of feminine affirmation, “Respect” and “(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman” and as such, this simple love song – written by Stevie Wonder - often slips though the cracks. The driving bass is beautifully counterbalanced a flute in the background, and fantastic backing vocals. As is always the case with anything by Franklin, Aretha’s voice is the driving force. She sounds determined in her determination to wait for her love to return to her. There’s no going back for her and after one listen, for the listener, either.

“My Cherie Amour” – My Cherie Amour (1969) – Stevie Wonder

The glittering flute intro to this gorgeous ballad by Wonder gives the listener right up front an idea of what is to follow. The lyrics are simple and heartfelt, as everything is by Wonder. The French flourish added to the song makes it a moving standout from other soul songs. It’s amazing how moving the repetition of “La la” can be when it is mirrored by a lone flute – only with Wonder’s voice could this effect be reached. For a man famous for writing love songs, this one is gold.

“That’s Life” – Gettin’ Down To It (1969) – James Brown

A standard that Sinatra made famous – among others – Brown, the Godfather of Soul, brings his gravely, gritty take to the song. The simple setting (piano, bass and drums) allow Brown’s voice to take the song and soar with it. The mildly fatalistic lyrics are met by delight and barely constrained laughter by Brown. He doesn’t sound for a minute daunted by the troubles that life is going to present, according to the song. Quite the contrary – he’s ready to “pick himself up and get back in the race.” There’s no chance of Brown quitting on this one.

“Let’s Stay Together” – The Right Stuff (1972) – Al Green

This song is musical manna. This is what musical perfection sounds like. A simple driving beat with occasional organ and horn flourishes drive the song, but it’s Green singing that makes it. The man is a wizard with that voice of his, and he reaches the peak of his powers on this number. The lyrics about sticking together through whatever life throws are given a moving immediacy in the song. Green knows exactly what he wants, and he’s going after it. “Let’s Stay Together” is a undisputable testament to the power of soul, of Green, and of love. Perfection.

“I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” – Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul (1966) – Otis Redding

Heartbreak has never sounded more soulful or powerful than on this song. All credit and praise goes to Redding, whose amazing voice drives the song. The music is all in the background, and the song would be just as powerful if he had done it as a solo piece. You can literally feel your heart ache along with Redding as he tries to hold on to a love that is slipping away. There is nothing but power in the song, and nothing but emotion in the voice: emotion that can stop you dead in your tracks.

“Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) – Sky’s the Limit (1971) – The Temptations

The throbbing bass and guitar lines that open up this song are quickly met by the Temptations lovely, wilting vocals – vocals that made them famous. The singer fantasizes with a gorgeous hopelessness and the strings behind him swing to great effect. There’s nothing not beautiful about this song, and it’s lyrics about dreaming about someone who doesn’t even know you are common, but set apart by the delivery here. There’s not much to do but let the song carry you away.

“Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) – What’s Going On (1971) – Marvin Gaye

One of Gaye’s great social awareness songs, the song’s intro hooks the listener right away with a catchy bass and piano line. Then you add Gaye’s lilting voice, moving in its fragility, but determined in it’s message: “this ain’t livin’.” About being overtaxed and overworked, the song builds in passion as Gaye brings more and more damnation upon modern society. Yet, rarely has condemnation sounded this lovely. Particular beauty comes out of flowing into a solo piano version of “What’s Going On” at the end of the song. Of course, all of this is a key aspect of the album What’s Going On which is one of the most powerful ever written. This song is a great example of what Gaye was trying to accomplish: use the sweet soul of Motown, but turn it into a method for change.

“A Change is Gonna Come” – Ain’t That Good News (1964) – Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke could do a spiritual or a love song like nobody’s business, but it’s with this anthem – referenced in everything from rock to hip-hop – that he made his mark. His voice is what heaven must sound like, and the lyrics are filled with a somber hope, reinforced by the deep horns and strings that pervade the song. The song’s lyrics “it’s too hard living, but I’m afraid to die,” ring true for everyone at one point – and tragic for Cooke, who died a year after recording this song. This is a Bob Dylan song – it was inspired by Cooke listening to “Blowin’ in the Wind” - from a soul king, and perhaps the best to ever come out of the genre. Just listen to it, and you’ll never walk away the same.