The Soap Boxers are an indie roots rock band with a twist of folk, pop and blues from Austin, Texas, consisting of Jeff Norby (Vocals/Keys), Rodrigo Lloreda (Guitar/Vocals), Chris Howell (Drums/Percussion) and Jory Mayer (Bass). The band has just dropped its latest single entitled “Monster”. Norby brings a raw emotion along with the talent, to lift the song up like a wave rising out of the ocean and expressing every high and low with genuine feeling and unbelievable rhythm. The band ain’t too shabby either, though. They do a heck of a job integrating their instruments into Norby’s vocals, and adding a ton of dynamics to the song.
There is no doubt that The Soap Boxers are winners on many levels. They are an amazing ensemble inventing a whole new style of music. The vocals grab you by the ‘short and curlies’ and does not let you go until the end of this delightful sonic blast.
The peaks and valleys in the structure of the music are fairly complex and very honest and warm – moving from sprawling piano phases to crunchy overdriven guitars riff and solos. I instantly loved the song. The band’s sound and style certainly defies being pigeon-holed. They will make you smile and tap your toe on one chorus and simply tear at your soul in the following verse.
There is no substitute for the feeling you get when you drop the ‘needle’ down on any music produced by this band. The Soap Boxers have all the southern roots necessary to charm the young and the old, yet at the same time they set forth something ultra-modern.
This is that classic moment when I need to use the rather cliched title “retro-futuristic”, but I simply can’t find a better description right now of what’s going on in this record. The Soap Boxers can rock and show inspiring potential in both their performance and songwriting qualities.
But what I was most impressed by was the group’s arranging talents. This is an element largely overlooked and where many bands don’t really reach heights of any particular merit.
Instead on “Monster”, The Soap Boxers display a strong sense of creative musical arrangement. They keep the track catchy but also interesting musically, as they move through the song’s verses, bridges and choruses with logical, but unexpected chord progressions.
It’s this trait which normally captures the widest audiences in music and also assures that songs have plenty of replay value. Quite frankly, The Soap Boxers nail it with this release!
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