Mamas Gun - Golden Days (Candelion)

Taking their name from Erykah Badu's debut album, Mamas Gun have tended in the past to be influenced by artists such as Badu, Jill Scott and other so called nu soul artists.

The London based quintet return now on their new album, Golden Days, which is an apt title as the band sound to be in a golden period. Described as 21st century soul the music on this accomplished album is more 70's soul music rather than nu soul or 21st century soul.

Apparently they have produced the album themselves and recorded the album on analogue equipment. The album sounds even better when the sun is shining and summer is on the horizon, they could not have released the album at a better time of the year than now.

The opening track, You Make The World A Better Place uses Marvin Gaye and What's Going On as a reference point with lead singer Andy Platts even sounding like Gaye on certain notes, high praise indeed but certainly warranted. A breezy soulful affair the album could not have opened on a more optimistic note.

What makes the songs here sound even more soulful are the harmonies as heard on I Need A Win and Diamond In The Bell Jar, the latter of which sounds like the sister to The Delfonics 1971 hit Didn't I.

All that is missing from London Girls is the cheesy dance routines that the soul acts from the 70's used to perform. The track is one of the best on the album but then there are so many soul nuggets here that it sounds at times like the best of Soul Train, the US soul TV show. The influences might be American on this track but the lyric is about their home town, London.

The Spooks is a ballad that The Stylistics would have be proud to sing in their heyday. Things sound more like the band used to on Strangers on the Street with a melody that lodges itself inside your head, think a good Paul Carrack track here and you will get the idea.

What has probably kept the band afloat is their success in countries such as Japan but if Radio 2 were to play some of these soulful songs they would find their audience growing here.

There are no clear photos of the band on the albums art work as if they are letting the music do the talking instead.

I Need A Win might be the title of one of the album tracks -they have won first prize as far as best soulful album from a UK act so far in 2018. Polished and Perfect. Golden indeed.

I give the album 4 out of 5