The Red, White and Black:The Bellrays

Artist: The Bellrays

Label: Alternative Tentacles

Genre: rock & soul

Rating: 5.2 of 10

During my research for this album all I can find are rants and raves about how the Bellrays music is “maximum rock & soul” and how what an amazing marriage of punk, soul and R&B, but for some reason I am just not feeling it. Lead singer, Lisa Kekaula, has an electrically soulful voice that is definitely the main attraction of the band, “Picture Tina Turner fronting a garage band.” And her backing band does a wonderful MC5 impression, but after 45 minutes and 21 tracks, I am just having trouble really getting into it. Maybe it’s the endless political ranting (especially now that it’s post-political season) or the fact that it really sounds like a band that you would see playing at a bar in the back of some Hollywood movie. It also could be the frustration of finding something new in a genre that has already been perfected and today’s outing is just regurgitations of yesteryear. Either way, there are definitely worse bands out there, but the album is going to be stuck in mediocrity, but hell at least it’s danceable.

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