Music Review: St Paul and the Broken Bones, Sea Of Noise

By Melissa Bratcher

It would be hard not to like St. Paul and the Broken Bones. You can call them what you like, soul revival or neo-soul or just soul, but the end result is the same: a band that makes bracingly soulful music that feels both classic and modern. Lead singer Paul Janeway vocally brings to mind the greats (Otis Redding in particular) and adds his own particular twist, with his testifying vocals (as you may recall, Janeway studied to be a preacher, and it certainly shows in his voice).

Their sophomore outing, Sea Of Noise, isn’t as immediately ear-wormy as Half The City, opting for more languorous songs and heavier themes. Janeway says that Sea of Noise isn’t exactly a concept album but, “It is focused in terms of subject matter—finding redemption and salvation and hope. ‘Crumbling Light Posts’ comes from an old Winston Churchill quote, in which he said England was a crumbling lighthouse in a sea of darkness. I always thought that was a really interesting concept—that we’re falling anyway. In this day and age, it is the noise that has defined so many things. We’re going to fall to it eventually, but for now we feel like our heads are above water. It felt anthemic.”

As a band, the Broken Bones is incredibly talented and also restrained. This is, of course, important, because Paul Janeway is given to over-the-top performances, both vocally and physically. James Brown’s band wasn’t full of a bunch of James Browns. You need a Maceo. Those Maceos come in the form of Jesse Phillips (bass, guitar), Browan Lollar (guitars), Andrew Lee (drums), Al Gamble (keyboards), and Allen Branstetter (trumpet) and have been joined by Jason Mingledorff (saxophone, clarinet, flute), and Chad Fisher (trombone). Added to that are tasteful strings and a choir. Sea Of Noise is clearly a maturation from Half The City.

The choir is a surprisingly effective addition. The interstellar harmonies they add to “Crumbling Light Posts Pt. 1” make it feel all the more hymnlike. They add more gravitas to the track and provoke goosebumps in conjunction with Janeway’s stunning falsetto. Their addition to the dreamy, languid “Waves” is glorious, busting the whole track wide open. Here, too, the horns are quite unobtrusive. While we’ve heard them let loose, they’re part of the bigger picture, not struggling for recognition. They could have certainly let rip on the testifying “Sanctify,” but they don’t (though I wish they had; they’re incredible).

St. Paul and the Broken Bones hit all the right marks on Sea Of Noise, from the Princely funk of “Midnight On Earth” with falsetto and percolating rhythm (and that majestic swell of horns that begins so subtly then builds off the burbling chaos of the track) to the low down slink of the single “Flow With It (You Got Me Feeling Like).” “Is It Me” is a ballad that sounds like a hymn; a subdued performance by Janeway is gorgeously restrained and rich.

There’s a darker, heavier mood to Sea Of Noise. The addition of strings contributes to that, but also the themes are substantial and thoughtful. St. Paul and the Broken Bones have crafted a worthy follow-up to Half The City (though this reviewer loves a good ear worm more than most things and will probably listen to that album forever).

Sea of Noise was released on September 9.