Con Brio

Explorer

Soul | Alternative Rock | Pop

Transistor Sound
2018

Music

escape the chaotic political climate with psychedelic-soul rockers con brio’s slice of paradise, ‘explorer’

July 16, 2018
1.0K Picks

“Don’t the sour make the sweet taste sweeter?”

Psychedelic- Rock and Soul septet Con Brio pulls off a surprising trick on their latest release, Explorer. Hiding just beneath the breezy pop hooks is a deep reservoir of serious musicianship, and moments of urgency and smart social criticism. It’s the rare album with a pop sheen that hides a deeper message.

Starting with “Saddle Up,” the band showcases a skill at dense layering. The song builds from spaced out electro R&B into an anthemic coda anchored by a deft horn section. The first half of the album is heavy on the poppy come-ons, but the band always interjects the songs with surprising touches, the old school soul hook that bursts out of “Texas Summers,” the compellingly understated horn licks in “Body Language.” And then “Heart Shaped Box” announces the album’s powerful second half.

Let me digress for a second to say that this is probably my favorite Nirvana song, and I’ve heard “Heart Shaped Box” covered more times than I can possibly count. I’ve never heard a band take the song and make it their own in the same way. So I don’t say it lightly when I say this is probably the best cover of that song I could possibly imagine. Damn. “Royal Rage” marks the band’s first big statement song; a track about frustration, hopelessness, and rebellion in the age of American fascism, that has far more to say than a song with as strong a hook as it has should say.

“United State of Mind” is the star of the show. A bouncy rhythm and retro soul feel that looks to find hope in a time when hope is in short supply. Where most of the songs have hooks and production touches that look to the future, “United State of Mind” looks back to 60’s soul and early funk to make a point about the modern age that would have made the Immortal Saint Gaye proud. That the album closes with tracks called “High Spirits” and “Feels Good,” sets the band’s mission statement. “Royal Rage” aside, this is an album about trying to find the joy in life when the world is a slowly spinning dumpster fire. I didn’t realize how badly I needed this record when I spun it the first time, but Explorer maybe the most essential pop record of summer 2018.

Stream it above, and catch Con Brio on tour now. Dates and tickets are here: http://www.thebandconbrio.com/home/shows/

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