Menahan Street Band
Make the Road by Walking

[Daptone; 2008]

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Styles: smooth instrumental soul/funk
Others: Mulatu Astatqe, The Music Makers, People’s Choice
Links: Menahan Street Band - Daptone

Menahan Street Band is a collaborative effort from musicians in the Dap-Kings, El Michels Affair, Antibalas, and The Budos Band. Brought together in Bushwick, they have created an easy-going, likable, and totally unrevolutionary instrumental soul sound.

Environments where you may overhear Menahan Street Band’s new album include:

 Hipster dressmaking shops

 Vintage boutiques

 Bars that open at noon

 Parties where all the young professionals read The Believer and have newborn babies

 College radio stations across the nation

 Your head as you walk down the street

 An escalator in a commercial for some new Apple invention

 The coolest Boys & Girls club ever

 Summer block party barbecue where the DJ sets up on the porch

 Jukeboxes that keep it fresh and real

It’s good, no doubt, but nothing to get excited about. Play it in your car for your friends while you drive around, and you will feel a little bit cooler. By cooler, I mean you might not notice any of your exposed skin sticking to the flaming hot upholstery in your hot glass-and-steel oven on wheels. You’d have to have a heart of ice to not want to hear this. I suppose some sociopathic jerks out there might think only yuppies listen to music like this, but besides the most elitist punks, everyone else will probably think this is pretty good. But you can only get so far listening to instrumental soul music before you wish a Mary Wells or Ronettes or Otis Redding or, hell, Sharon Jones herself would step up and make some shit happen.

1. Make The Road By Walking 2. Tired Of Fighting 3. Home Again 4. Montego Sunset 5. Karina 6. The Traitor 7. The Contender 8. Birds 9. Esma 10. Going The Distance