Ghost Funk Orchestra- A New Kind Of Love
Weekly Reviews:
“A New Kind Of Love” is Brooklyn based neo-soul/ jazz band, Ghost Funk Orchestra’s fourth album in just three years.
After expanding his bedroom recording experiment into a 10-piece live band, guitarist/ producer/bandleader Seth Applebaum appears to have scaled back a hair on one. Not to worry, there’s still plenty of big retro psych soul sounds to shake your swizzle stick at.
It’s been scientifically proven that listening to Ghost Funk Orchestra in your car transports you into an episode of the 70’s television police drama “The Streets Of San Francisco.” This time, instead of a car chase scene, New Kind Of Love feels like entering a beatnik filled nightclub with go-go dancers and suspicious characters of questionable intentions.
About halfway through the first track, “Your Man’s No Good,” a sultry three part harmony rattles off a laundry list of traits no person wants their man to have. The Song features plenty of horn section with smirking attitude to back it up.
On track three, “Scatter,” Romi Hanoch’s soulful scat vocals set the tone for an up tempo scorcher while “Prism” is a more angular start/ stop groove complete with haunting atmospheric “Oh’s & Ah’s” intersecting a truly infectious bass line and fluttering jazz flute.
The title track “A New Kind Of Love (pt.1)” feels like an exploratory sonic blue print for most of the tunes on the album. A laid back groove intermingles with spring reverb drenched guitars and cavernous horn stabs. Slowly brooding vintage keyboards sounds slip in and out of a sonic ether thick with chilled out jazzy vibes for miles.
“A Song For Pearl” is a vibey, sax laden, bossanova instrumental that melds into the standard cool jazz tone of Bluebell.
The second to last track, “Rooted,” is a another stand out, up tempo, mission complete with space-echoed Rhodes piano and a guitar solo that sounds like it was broadcast from Mars.
There’s really nowhere you can to wrong with Ghost Funk Orchestra IMHO. But if your looking for the perfect balance of energy and chill to fully lubricate your next dinner/ cocktail gathering, I think you’ve found your record. – Major Matt
