Funk & Soul

New EP: The Kevin Fingier Collective || The Boogaloo EP

Four Latin soul hits on one 7" compilation

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We’ve been fans of Argentinean producer/composer/multi-instrumentalist Kevin Fingier‘s work for a while now, writing here and there about some of the incredible R&B hipshakers he recorded with his band. Their music explores all corners of the genre, but on The Boogaloo EP it is all Latin soul that rules. On one 45 in a funky package, four danceable tunes are brought together, songs that we already knew from previous releases, but in this way they come into their own even better. The tracks in question are Latin Dynamite, a cover of Charles Sheffield’s It’s Your Voodoo Working (the only vocal track, featuring Mandioca), El Popcorn, and Cocktail de Medianoche—all hits, a must-have for every party.


The Boogaloo EP is out now digitally and on vinyl 7″ through Acid Jazz subsidiary label Fingier Records.

Add to wantlist: Acid Jazz Store || Bandcamp

New album: Tomar And The FCs || Soul Searching

Reimagining vintage soul for modern times

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Put on your shiniest dancing shoes, because Austin-based rhythm & blues outfit Tomar And The FCs have recently released their third full-length album. It’s called Soul Searching and they make this mission come true, both literally and figuratively. These musicians have mastered the craft of heartfelt soul and showy funk, captured in the sound of the late 60s and early 70s, down to the last detail. Magnificent vocals and an inspired rhythm section, switching between emotional ballads and hip-shaking grooves, touch both the gut and the heart.



Soul Searching, produced by Paul Kresowik and Andy Tenberg, is out now digitally (self-released). Featuring Tomar Williams (lead vocals), Paul Kresowik (drums, vocals), Andy Tenberg (guitar, vocals, tambourine, shaker), Christopher Alexander (bass, vocals), James Rodman (keys, vocals), Jorion Dawson (saxophone, vocals), Andrew Page (trumpet), Angela Miller (vocals), Lauren Cervantes (vocals), Joseph Woullard (baritone saxophone), Matt Danko (percussion), Camille Scheiss (violin), and Diana Burgess (cello).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Dusted || The 10 Best New Cover Songs Of March 2025

By / / Alternative Rock, Country & Folk, Funk & Soul, Indie Pop, Power Pop, Psych, Punk, Surf Music / 1 Comment

Not all new music is really new, as many artists cover songs. Sometimes these are songs by their favorite artists, eg as a tribute to such a musical hero for a special reason, or they simply feel that a song deserves to be dusted and polished to reacquaint fans with great songs from the past. Other times, bands cover songs as a parody. Regardless of intent, some of those cover versions are so good or so much fun, we’d like to put a spotlight on them. Chosen from a wide range, here are – in random order – ten of our favorite covers from last month – links to the pages where you can add them to your wantlist included.

We’ve already written about Brad Marino’s rarities collection On The Brink, of which his take on Hoodoo Gurus’ What’s My Scene has been bouncing around in my head ever since, but here’s some new ones for you.

Terry || Cover: Big Mess || Original: Kirsty MacColl
Sometimes you hear a song that you immediately take to your heart and text to your friends. The title track that kicks off the Terry EP by Danish punk rock band Big Mess is one of those. What a hit! It turns out to be a cover of Kirsty MacColl‘s 1983 pop single, but then provided with dynamite, which also applies to the tunes that follow. Out on 7″ vinyl through Specialist Subject Records.

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New album: Mike Clark & the Sugar Sounds || Hot Coffee

A sweet brew from Pueblo, Colorado

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Mike Clark & ​​the Sugar Sounds made quite a splash in 2013 with their debut full-length Round And Round, which was followed up in 2022 by the year-end list-worthy Moon Rock LP. Luckily we didn’t have to wait that long for new work, because after last year’s Live at the Trinidad Lounge they now serve Hot Coffee, their third studio album. We get ten tracks that are more suited to a late night out than for a morning breakfast, but they are certainly invigorating. This is bluesy soul with rock influences, in which sweet but powerful vocals enrich the confident rhythm section. In carefully constructed songs like Diggin’ On You and Electricity, everything is right.



Hot Coffee, recorded and mixed by Cole Halvorsen, is out now digitally (self-released). Featuring Mike Clark (guitar, synth, vocals), Rachael McElhiney (sax, vocals), Robin Chestnut (percussion), and Alex Koshak (drums on select tracks).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Skip The Needle || Wake Up Wake Up Wake Up

Four soulful voices, one powerful message

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Oakland-based queer female quartet Skip The Needle, now more than ten years into their career, are still on a mission to make it clear to the world that socially conscious music can edify, inspire and rejuvenate—no small message in these dark times. Katie Cash (guitar, vocals), Shelley Doty (guitar, vocals), Vicki Randle (bass, vocals) and Kofy Brown (drums, vocals) blend soul, funk and rock like no other, but it is their four amazing voices that truly enchant. On their new EP, with the telling title Wake Up Wake Up Wake Up, we hear five soulful songs with a groovy sound and socially conscious message: “Get up, stay up!”


Wake Up Wake Up Wake Up, recorded & mixed by Danielle Goldsmith (Women’s Audio Mission), is out now digitally via Soulectric Records – a division of Little Village.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Guy Hamper Trio feat. James Taylor || The Goddess Tree

Raw, unpolished, and unapologetically groovy

By / / Funk & Soul, Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

The Goddess Tree is The Guy Hamper Trio‘s fourth full-length album in as many years. Where predecessor Dog Jaw Woman went in a more jazzy direction, the new work returns to a more gritty garage rock sound—of course still heavily laced with soulful R&B. Guy Hamper aka Billy Childish (guitar, vocals), Juju Hamper (bass) and Wolf Howard (drums) create a fertile soil, on which the mighty James Taylor (Hammond organ) can unleash his inimitable and unpredictable melodies. They deliver twelve cinematic, dazzling instrumentals—worthy covers of The Yardbirds’ Shapes Of Things and For Your Love, recently also released in other versions with The CTMF, plus ten imaginative originals.

These garage rock veterans continue to break the rules, with unfiltered energy and an outrageous groove.



Volume IV: The Goddess Tree—produced by William ‘Spook’ Loveday—is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Spinout Nuggets. Also featuring Thee Headcoats’ Tub Johnson (bass) and Bash Brand (drums).

Add to wantlists: Bandcamp || Discogs || Spinout Productions

PS  Standout track Chatham’s Burning, named after Billy Childish’s punk fanzine (1977), has also been released in a shorter version on 7″ vinyl, along with two non-album tracks.

New EP: Strawberry Moon || Smoon

Rock ‘n’ soul with serious firepower

By / / Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Power Pop / Leave a Comment

Wow—Strawberry Moon sound absolutely massive on their new EP! The Richmond quintet deliver five tracks of power pop ‘n’ soul, packed with thundering drums, roaring guitars, and the powerhouse vocals of Katie Bowles. But calling her a powerhouse almost undersells it—her range and talent go far beyond sheer force. And while her voice is a standout, the whole band is unafraid to let it rip, playing with the kind of energy that makes these songs truly hit.

If you only have time for one song today, make it Rearview—it’s a perfect showcase of everything Strawberry Moon do best.

Smoon is out now on Sockhead Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Dusted || The 10 Best Cover Songs Of February 2025

By / / Alternative Rock, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Punk / Leave a Comment

Not all new music is really new, as many artists cover songs. Sometimes these are songs by their favorite artists, eg as a tribute to such a musical hero for a special reason, or they simply feel that a song deserves to be dusted and polished to reacquaint fans with great songs from the past. Other times, bands cover songs as a parody. Regardless of intent, some of those cover versions are so good or so much fun, we’d like to put a spotlight on them. Chosen from a wide range, here are – in random order – ten of our favorite covers from last month – links to the pages where you can add them to your wantlist included.

February may be the shortest month of the year, but it was jam-packed with worthy covers. Here are ten songs you should definitely listen to.

Jubilee Street || Cover: The Color Forty Nine || Original Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
San Diego, California-based indie rock band The Color Forty Nine have brought together a selection of nine more subdued songs on a beautiful new full-length album, appropriately titled A Whisper (self-released). A moody reworking or Nick Cave’s Jubilee Street—with a feel reminiscent of The National—fits in seamlessly.

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New single: The Capellas || Love Prayer

Including a soulful cover of Captain Beefheart's Zig Zag Wanderer

By / / Funk & Soul, Garage Rock / 1 Comment

Eighteen months after their year-end list worthy debut EP Take Your Chance With​.​.​., British rhythm & blues supergroup The Capellas return with their next 45, another dancefloor-ready dose of vintage energy. Elsa Whittaker (vocals), Mike Whittaker (guitar), Matthew “Mole” Lambert (bass) and Yan Quellien (drums)—members of ATW favorites like The Missing Souls, The Jack Cades, Thee Vicars, The Baron Four, The Embrooks, The Barracudas and Chrome Reverse—open the ball with their self-penned Love Prayer, as groovy as it is infectious. The flipside is for a soulful cover of Zig Zag Wanderer, originally on the must-have Safe As Milk LP by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band. Retro vibes with a raw edge, timeless fun.


Love Prayer is out now digitally and will also release on 7″ vinyl on March 5, through Rogue Records.

Add to want list: Bandcamp

New album: The Dustaphonics || Gasolina

A genre-blending adventure with a retro twist, fueled by unstoppable rhythms

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French-English rock ‘n’ roll outfit The Dustaphonics were already known for their eclectic sound, in which they incorporate garage rock, rhythm & blues, pop, surf, and soul, but on their new (fifth) album Gasolina they really go all out. The band around composer/producer/guitarist Yvan Serrano aka DJ Healer Selecta delivers twelve energetic tracks—partly instrumentals—that make a good party. Classic vibes with a modern edge in a timeless groove—fun first. Not that it was necessarily necessary, but characterful contributions from Mark Robertson of The Meteors (drums on Hey Sister Hey), Lisa Kekaula and Bob Vennum of The Bellrays (vocals and bass on Voodoo Love Jinx), and daughter Ninamay Serrano-Fontova (vocals on Singaling Calypso) certainly add value.




Gasolina, produced by Healer Selecta and Christophe Marraud, is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through KingAling Production London. Featuring Lise De Luck (vocals), Yvan Serrano-Fontova (guitars, vocals), Flo Compain (bass) and Ludovic Nagy (drums, percussion), with Dan Whaley (bass, voice over), Anne Flore Trichilo (voice over), Marco Garcia Barrera (voice over), Mark Robertson (drums), Lisa Kekaula (vocals), Bob Vennum (bass) and Ninamay Serrano-Fontova (vocals, backing vocals) on select tracks.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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