According to Music Radar, more new music is released in one day in 2024 than during all of 1989. It’s a mind-blowing stat that helps explain why so many quality releases slip through the cracks. Hopefully, Unturned Stone by the JoJos won’t be one of them. It’s a sensational set of retro-styled R&B/soul that conjures the sound patented long ago by Stax and American Sound Studios in Memphis. It’s soulful, slinky and gritty, the kind of music that pushes itself to the forefront no matter what you’re doing.
The Brooklyn-based group, as I learned yesterday, features Joanna Teters on lead vocals; she’s released several solo albums since 2018, fronts the Childish Japes band, and cross-pollinates with other artists, as well. The other Jo is Jose Lopez, who fronts the Chosen Style group; he handles guitar. Sean Walsh, who produced, plucks the bass, while Brian Geltner thumps the drums, Eric Finland tinkles the keys, and Mike Robinson plays pedal steel. Brass accents many of the songs, with the horn arrangements courtesy of Billy Aukstick; Raymond Mason blows the trombone, while Jason Prover enlivens the trumpet and Morgan Price soars on saxophone. Background vocals come courtesy of Julia Zivic and Miranda Di Perno.
The first thing you’ll notice, however, is Teters’ soulful vocals, which exude a grainy gravitas sure to conjure for some Macy Gray, Joss Stone and/or Amy Winehouse; others, when they close their eyes, will be transported to the Soulsville studio of the 1960s, with Booker T. & the MGs as the house band and Jim Stewart the producer. Still others may point to big-voiced Cassandra Lewis, whose own retro sound is a tad more country, and fellow Brooklynite Little Mystery, who’s a bit more bluesy. Either/or, or all, there’s no getting around the Memphis feel that resonates throughout the songs.
Highlights abound. When the horns come blaring in on “Long Gone,” about the dark days of winter, chills result. “Two Months,” about the way station that is grief, features a slow-mo guitar solo that reverberates through the soul, while the tantalizing title track could well be mistaken for a long-lost Staples Singers single. “Coming Home” delves into the musicians’ life, with Teters singing about missing Lopez—her real-life other half—while he’s away on a tour; Lopez steps to the microphone for one verse to reflect on the separation from his perspective. The sweet “Lullaby” closes the album in nice fashion.
All in all, Unturned Stone is a tremendous outing that ably captures the analog warmth of vinyl despite its digital delivery. It can be streamed from all the usual suspects.
The tracks:
The Old Grey Cat 