The Seratones are a group who have no fear of evolving and exploring new creative directions -- enough so that you might wonder if this is the same band who released Get Gone in 2016. That album was a revved-up blend of old-school soul and R&B and buzzy garage rock, and it was a satisfying blend of groove and energy. The group added a lot more polish and a big dose of funk to the mix on 2019's Power, and for their third LP, 2022's Love & Algorhythms, they've set up camp in the brave new world of 1970s dance music. While ...
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The Seratones are a group who have no fear of evolving and exploring new creative directions -- enough so that you might wonder if this is the same band who released Get Gone in 2016. That album was a revved-up blend of old-school soul and R&B and buzzy garage rock, and it was a satisfying blend of groove and energy. The group added a lot more polish and a big dose of funk to the mix on 2019's Power, and for their third LP, 2022's Love & Algorhythms, they've set up camp in the brave new world of 1970s dance music. While these songs don't follow the robotic pulse of old-school disco to the letter, the Seratones have cited Giorgio Moroder as an influence on the sound and style of this music, and the lean grooves, clean musical surfaces, and eager embrace of vintage electronic keyboards testify to the band's devotion to the Munich Machine. The raw, rock-influenced edge of their debut album is essentially gone, and though this group can still pull off some potent funk (particularly on the consciousness-raising session of "Get Free" and the self-help anthem "Good Day"), most of Love & Algorhythms sounds like Louisiana's first Eurodisco album. Lead singer A.J. Haynes was and remains a superb vocalist, but her tone is a great deal more reserved this time as her voice explores the smooth, spare musical surfaces with appropriate restraint. Although drummer Jesse Gabriel and Travis Stewart are still her musical cohorts according to the credits, a lot of the time it's hard to be certain they're here, with producer Paul Butler favoring keyboards, rhythm machines, and sequencers that mesh with the spacious feel of the arrangements. The relative chill of Love & Algorhythms makes this a very different sort of dance party than Get Gone or Power, yet taken on its own terms, this is beautifully crafted, Butler and the group evoke the period with an accuracy that's neither hackneyed or clichéd, and it reminds us A.J. Haynes is a force of nature, even when she's easing back on her gritty side. Love & Algorhythms will probably be a bridge too far for the folks who most eagerly celebrated the Seratones' sweaty early work, but there's a good chance this will attract enough fans of other sorts of dance music to compensate. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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