A Well-Worn Path

"Make The Road By Walking"
Menahan Street Band
Daptone/Dunham, 2008
5 stars

Listening to this album through headphones, even the simple act of walking to the milk bar to buy a Snap Crackle bar feels like the coolest thing in the world. Apparently Menahan Street is in Brooklyn, New York, and the Band is a collection of musicians from Sharon Jones' Dap-Kings, the Budos Band and a few other New York funk/soul heavy-hitters. Make The Road By Walking is a real treat – recorded in the bedroom of the group's main man Thomas Brenneck, it drips with soul. The sound is timeless – a seamless melding of piano, guitar, vibes and a great hip-hop-tinged percussion section (not to mention horns, trumpets, saxophones, flutes … basically, think of something with a hole in both ends and these guys have probably used it as an instrument). The album's title track was actually sampled in last year's Jay-Z hit Roc Boys, so you can rest assured the band's fans extend beyond Brenneck's shared-wall neighbours. Named after a social justice organisation on Menahan Street, Make The Road By Walking paints the same picture of the New York boroughs that Sesame Street did back in the '80s – a set of bustling, larger-than-life streets full of friendly, familiar faces, where everyone's welcome and nobody wants to leave.

Artwork: A
This is a classic New York funk/soul record with a classic New York fuck/soul record look. They've nailed it here - nothing fancy, just nice simple design. Daptone are living in the past and absolutely loving it.

Published in mX, Thursday January 15, 2009.