Transistor Sound US Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Alanna Royale has been active in the funk and soul scene for quite a few years now, though her releases have previously been limited to a handful of self-released EPs and a sole album (recorded live and thrown out to raise funds for Puerto Rico hurricane survivors). Here she debuts on Transistor Sound, with Kelly Finnigan of label owners Monophonics handling production duties. "Go" is a great chunk of fuzzy, retro-futurist soul, with Royale's superb Alice Russell style vocal simply soaring above a bustling backing track rich in parping horns, skittish drum breaks and razor-sharp funk guitars. Royale remains in fine form on flipside "I Know", another distorted stomper of the sort that should excite both Northern Soul diehards and modern soul aficionados.

Review: San Francisco Bay Area soul band Monophonics's 'Beggin' is their own fine cover version of a song originally released by Franki Valli & The Four Seasons. It has been covered and sampled by a number of other acts who have done a fine job of popularising it, but this version by this large and often rotating cast of musicians is one that truly brings something different. It has a retro 60s soul sound in the gauzy guitars, while the rolling drums hit hard with extra texture from further psyched-out guitar lines. An instrumental is included for those who prefer a more direct approach.