Rigid Soul – Rigid Soul
For Scottish blues rock trio Rigid Soul (Kyle Hood - lead vocals, guitar; L. Brown - bass, vocals; Lewis Ross - drums, vocals), a seven year studio itch has been suitably and successfully scratched with their self-titled debut album.
Formed in 2018 by Kyle Hood while still in his teens, seven years of Rigid Soul songwriting, live performances and musical travels have led to the time now being right for the band to deliver their full-length debut.
Given how well honed, and well received, the band have become in the live environment, it’s no surprise they have gone for a live in the studio recording, with minimal overdubs; the results are an effective capture of their on-stage energy and performance values.
Song-wise, the 13 track album can also be seen, or heard, as a snapshot of Rigid Soul’s current live set, albeit their full shows sometimes include the occasional cover, including a Black Sabbath number or two (a blues rock band they may be, but their influences are myriad, running from vocal pop harmony to heavy rock/ metal).
The band’s trademark nod to early, rootsy blues is on offer early with 'To My Grave,' which flits from Kyle Hood's Delta blues picking to a vibe, melody and rhythm that reminds, slightly, of the more up-tempo renditions of oft-covered blues standard 'Baby Please Don’t Go.'
However, the song’s change-ups and dynamic shifts underline how Rigid Soul can take authentic sounding blues and make it something that is very much their own.
The short 'n' funky 'Looking Down' (which sports some nifty and nimble bass lines from L. Brown) underlines the band’s blues versatility, while 'Mindless Stalling,' featuring guest player Rachel Duns on tenor sax, is a grooving hybrid of jazz-blues and Texas shuffle.
Formed in 2018 by Kyle Hood while still in his teens, seven years of Rigid Soul songwriting, live performances and musical travels have led to the time now being right for the band to deliver their full-length debut.
Given how well honed, and well received, the band have become in the live environment, it’s no surprise they have gone for a live in the studio recording, with minimal overdubs; the results are an effective capture of their on-stage energy and performance values.
Song-wise, the 13 track album can also be seen, or heard, as a snapshot of Rigid Soul’s current live set, albeit their full shows sometimes include the occasional cover, including a Black Sabbath number or two (a blues rock band they may be, but their influences are myriad, running from vocal pop harmony to heavy rock/ metal).
The band’s trademark nod to early, rootsy blues is on offer early with 'To My Grave,' which flits from Kyle Hood's Delta blues picking to a vibe, melody and rhythm that reminds, slightly, of the more up-tempo renditions of oft-covered blues standard 'Baby Please Don’t Go.'
However, the song’s change-ups and dynamic shifts underline how Rigid Soul can take authentic sounding blues and make it something that is very much their own.
The short 'n' funky 'Looking Down' (which sports some nifty and nimble bass lines from L. Brown) underlines the band’s blues versatility, while 'Mindless Stalling,' featuring guest player Rachel Duns on tenor sax, is a grooving hybrid of jazz-blues and Texas shuffle.
'Miss Red' reinstates the band’s funk credentials, but here with a pop-blues flourish and effective, but sparingly used, backing harmonies.
The lighter, lyrical side of the band then comes calling on the rhythm and cheeky blues of mid-tempo number 'Can I Borrow Some Money?'
'Leading Me Nowhere' might be the simplest song Rigid Soul have ever written, but its jazzy, pop-blues sensibility and lyrical frustration ("seems like everything… is leading me nowhere!" sings Kyle Hood, almost on repeat) makes for an earworm you just can’t shake.
The brooding 'Five Out Of Four' is the album’s old-school blues rock moment, including an instrumental closing section that wouldn’t have been out of place on a Cream album (bolstered by a perfectly fitting solo from Kyle Hood, who most certainly has the six-string chops).
The slightly psychedelic 'True To You' (another that sports a great use of dynamics) is an impressively arranged highlight, while the swampier, pace-changing 'Yesteryear' sports a cheeky (yet respectful) lyrical nod to the older generations and their music, which has so deeply influenced the band.
The harmonica backed 'If Someone' doesn’t quite capture the same attention as the previous numbers, but it does come complete with another tasty little solo from Kyle Hood.
The contrasting and decidedly woozy vocal pop & harmonies of 'This Or That,' however, (with Rachel Duns on flute) adds yet another colour to proceedings.
The band leave the best to very nearly last with twelve minute number 'What Gives Me The Right To Sing The Blues?'
Intentionally playing, and paying, homage to the blues greats, the song cleverly doubles as a lyrical consideration as to how and why a bunch of 21st century Scottish kids can be so in touch, and in tune (in this case literally) with 20th century Black American blues music ("How can I sing the blues, when I was only born in nineteen ninety-nine?").
Developing from its slow blues first half, the song shifts to an intense and up-tempo jazz-blues, where guitar and saxophone take flight (kudos here to Kyle Hood’s guitar play and wicked licks); hitting a cacophonous crescendo, the music then fades to leave an outro of haunting, A Capella harmonies. Great stuff.
It's an impossible song to follow, but follow it the band do by dropping in a loose, acoustic arrangement of 'What You Can’t Do' as a bonus track (the "woah-oh" singalongs make this a winner live, where it’s played with a fuller sound).
With an impressive debut and equally impressive Album Launch show in Glasgow, which culminated in an outstanding performance of 'What Gives Me The Right To Sing The Blues?' (with Rachel Duns reprising her sax role), Rigid Soul have shown themselves to be a true double threat.
Not only have they a songwriting & arrangement maturity that belies their ages, they have an on-stage confidence and tightness that should stand them in good stead as they move onward and, hopefully, upward.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Stream the album via: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/rigidsoul/rigid-soul
The lighter, lyrical side of the band then comes calling on the rhythm and cheeky blues of mid-tempo number 'Can I Borrow Some Money?'
'Leading Me Nowhere' might be the simplest song Rigid Soul have ever written, but its jazzy, pop-blues sensibility and lyrical frustration ("seems like everything… is leading me nowhere!" sings Kyle Hood, almost on repeat) makes for an earworm you just can’t shake.
The brooding 'Five Out Of Four' is the album’s old-school blues rock moment, including an instrumental closing section that wouldn’t have been out of place on a Cream album (bolstered by a perfectly fitting solo from Kyle Hood, who most certainly has the six-string chops).
The slightly psychedelic 'True To You' (another that sports a great use of dynamics) is an impressively arranged highlight, while the swampier, pace-changing 'Yesteryear' sports a cheeky (yet respectful) lyrical nod to the older generations and their music, which has so deeply influenced the band.
The harmonica backed 'If Someone' doesn’t quite capture the same attention as the previous numbers, but it does come complete with another tasty little solo from Kyle Hood.
The contrasting and decidedly woozy vocal pop & harmonies of 'This Or That,' however, (with Rachel Duns on flute) adds yet another colour to proceedings.
The band leave the best to very nearly last with twelve minute number 'What Gives Me The Right To Sing The Blues?'
Intentionally playing, and paying, homage to the blues greats, the song cleverly doubles as a lyrical consideration as to how and why a bunch of 21st century Scottish kids can be so in touch, and in tune (in this case literally) with 20th century Black American blues music ("How can I sing the blues, when I was only born in nineteen ninety-nine?").
Developing from its slow blues first half, the song shifts to an intense and up-tempo jazz-blues, where guitar and saxophone take flight (kudos here to Kyle Hood’s guitar play and wicked licks); hitting a cacophonous crescendo, the music then fades to leave an outro of haunting, A Capella harmonies. Great stuff.
It's an impossible song to follow, but follow it the band do by dropping in a loose, acoustic arrangement of 'What You Can’t Do' as a bonus track (the "woah-oh" singalongs make this a winner live, where it’s played with a fuller sound).
With an impressive debut and equally impressive Album Launch show in Glasgow, which culminated in an outstanding performance of 'What Gives Me The Right To Sing The Blues?' (with Rachel Duns reprising her sax role), Rigid Soul have shown themselves to be a true double threat.
Not only have they a songwriting & arrangement maturity that belies their ages, they have an on-stage confidence and tightness that should stand them in good stead as they move onward and, hopefully, upward.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Stream the album via: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/rigidsoul/rigid-soul