2023 – Tall and Mean
Records
By Phillip Smith; Aug. 5, 2023
Release Date : August 18, 2023
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com
Hailing from Richmond, Virginia is a new ensemble called The Hurricane Party. Their debut album Cat 2, brings a bit of rock, blues, funk, and R&B to the table in a twelve-track collection of songs. Rocky Pleasants and Gainesville, Florida songwriter Rob Marlowe teamed up to write nine of the twelve tracks. The Hurricane Party is comprised of vocalists Rocky Pleasants and Jenny “Buttafly” Vazquez, guitarist Matt Walton, drummer Kelli Strawbridge, and bassist Noah Boyle.
Title-track “Hurricane Party” kicks the album off in a funky way with a nod to George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic. As ‘there ain’t no party like a hurricane party, ‘cuz a hurricane party don’t stop’. “Hey! That’s My Jam” rolls in on a nice slice of piano and horn-infused blues. A lovely vocal performance by Buttafly adds an extra layer of elegance to “Flame of Love”. She also brings a powerful force to their heavy-funk cover of Mother’s Finest’s “Truth’ll Set You Free”. The pièce de resistance on the album is the cover of Sly and the Family Stone’s “Underdog”. Pleasant nails the vocals on this superbly arranged cover which features guests Toby Whitaker on trombone, JC Kuhl on saxophone, and Bob Miller on trumpet.
The Hurriane Party is a tight, funky band who can surely mix it up in a potpourri of genres.
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