And they do it well. Really well.
4 quickly flits between cinematic funk and glorious soul as the mood takes it but the songwriting, playing and production are consistently inspiring.
Sassy opener 'On The Sly' and, later on, 'Kings Cross', both sound like they should be on a Steven Soderbergh soundtrack from David Holmes whilst 'Turn It Up' (featuring vocals from Lyrics Born) would be right at home in a Guy Richie flick. Elsewhere 'Up On The Hill' adds an Oriental vibe yet retains enough snap in the rhythm that it adds a crucial diversity to proceedings rather than breaking the flow of the album.
One listen to 4 and it is clear The Bamboos are not only the real deal but they are onto something. This is an album that manages to do new things yet sounds timeless. Once the rousing soul of 'Keep Me In Mind' kicks in it is obvious that this record really deserves to do great things this year.
BP x
4 is released on Tru Thoughts on 29 March 2010, available for pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD [affiliate link].