Release date: Friday April 13th 2018 on CD/LP/digital. Available for pre-order now.
Recorded in two separate sessions, one in New Orleans and the other in Denver a few months later, Renewable Energy expands on the NMS template while still providing plenty of the band’s trademark sounds. Guitarist Eddie Roberts, drummer Simon Allen, bassist Pete Shand and keyboardist Joe Tatton are joined on this 12-track effort by a number of guests: Sam Bell, one of the founding members of NMS precursor The Mastersounds plays percussion on most of the tracks. Mike Olmos and Joe Cohen of West Coast Horns once again provide added horn action as they did on “Made For Pleasure” in 2015, while Adryon de León from LA band Orgone contributes vocals on “Gonna Be Just Me”. Uptempo numbers “Tantalus” and “Yokacoka” see the band flexing their playing chops over a tightly-wound rhythm, while “Green Was Beautiful” and “Groovin’ On The Groomers” are toe-tapping slabs of soul jazz. The band’s cover of James Gang’s “Funk 49” takes the album in a fuzzed-out psych-rock direction with Eddie singing the lead, while the moody Hancock-esque inflections of “Stash” and the sweet mellow vibes of “Swimming With My Fishies” add the final brush strokes of colour to the canvas.