The third album from the New York City-based Ghost Funk Orchestra is a continuation of the band’s funk/soul/jazz roots. A New Kind Of Love on Colemine Records is the type of throwback album that retro soul fans will devour with its easy-flowing warmth, charm, and spirit.
Beginning with an album intro straight from the golden days of vinyl, the orchestra wastes no time as the funky soul, bright horns, and echoing female vocals all coalesce into a sweet treat on “Your Man’s No Good”; an album highlight right from the start.
The group is led by guitarist/producer/bandleader Seth Applebaum whose retro soul stylings seep into every nook and cranny. The largest this ensemble sounds is found on “Rooted” which glides through different musical styles with ease as Hanoch and Mancini’s vocals brightly ring out before the large drum and brass climax. Outside of that, the band is more scaled back, working in a lounge, late-night get-down style on “Blockhead” or splashing on a touch of Latin jazz during “A Song For Pearl” which is driven by a dynamite sax solo.
“Prism” is an interesting journey, floating along on exhaling vocals and a laid-back groove, supported by flutes and chimes in a soothing fashion, it rolls like a score to an early ’60s art house film. In fact, A New Kind Of Love as a whole possesses a cinematic quality with the ominous tension of “Quiet Places” working like a spy thriller backing track or the electro keys and horns of “Bluebell” accenting a car ride in a black and white film noir.
Not everything is as successful, “A New Kind Of Love (pt. 1)” meanders in lost fashion as the longest track offered here, but “A New Kind Of Love (pt. 2)” closes the album with much more confidence and flowing instrumentation. The funkiest outing is the single “Why?”, a tightly coiled grooving slice of bumping soul that cooks with a simmering sense of style and succulent vocals.
Overall fans of retro soul, funky and brassy outings in the vein of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings will find a lot to love on Ghost Funk Orchestra’s A New Kind Of Love as rich sounds, slick production, and joyfully full-bodied playing envelop the listener.
