DeWolff are muscularly soulful, seriously and deliriously swirly, dreamily real on Muscle Shoals.
This superior, chops-heavy outfit take a classic sound from a classic place, mould and cherish it in a legendary home of recording, and spin their gloriously sexy, joyous and life-affirming magic until the whole R ’n’ B, psychedelic-tinged concoction reaches for the sky – excellent, energetic and fun-filled, polished and precise but laid back.
Richly retro with gorgeous, vintage fuzz, the rhythmic and Southern rockin’ output of this intelligently interpretative outfit is graced by fine flourishes from drums, geetar and keys, the vocals spot-on and inviting throughout (Pablo van de Poel is on guitar and vocals, Luka van de Poel drums and vocals with Robin Piso on Hammond and Wurlitzer).
Much has and will be made of the fact these guys formed in the Netherlands, not Alabama, and much has and will be made of the “FAME Recording Studios, home of the Muscle Shoals Sound”, Aretha, Wilson Pickett etc, all that other history and legacy. But suffice to say if this doesn’t sound to you like the real thing, you better stick to Coke.
Do yourself a favour, give yourself a treat and don’t keep DeWolff from your Doors (the track Snowbird has a definite Riders On The Storm vibe as it stretches out and flexes those musical muscles).
Sultry and sinuous opener In Love is a pure delight, showcasing these guys’ intimate and complicated relationship with what seems to be pure simplicity, but ain’t necessarily so simple. The keys and rhythm guitar stand out from the crowd but it’s the drums that take command of your feet, your hips, your very core. Soon you’ll be Out On The Town, adding your moniker to the visitors’ pages of the Book Of Life, passing soulmates and fellow partygoers like Ships In The Night.
Natural Woman is the track that perhaps most justifies any Black Keys comparisons, and the drums take charge again on Ophelia, one of the rockers, a proper work-out, upping the temperature, upping the odds, raising the bar.
The Bluesy, blossomy Let’s Stay Together, with its keening guitar, is another stand-out, a yearningly, swooningly romantic ditty with a dark side. Derivative? Definitely. New and exciting, enterprising and confident? Absolutely.
The beautiful Ships In The Night is almost hymn-like, anthemic in its declarative yet almost deceptive quality.
Hard To Make A Buck, something of a call to revolution, reminds us life can be tough, life can be rough, while the piano playing on Book Of Life soothes and salves.
The only obvious caveat is that this is one of those “sound of the summer” albums, while it’s being released in … December. But the smart and streetwise DeWolff demand your attention any time of the year, any time of day or night.
Muscle Shoals, by DeWolff, is out on Friday (December 6), via Mascot Records