Eric GrubbsA Joyous And Timeless Tune, Today’s Track Is From The First Album Of Two Coming This Year After The Death Of Frontman Chadwick Murray.
Welcome to Song of the Day, where we hip you to all the new local releases you should be caring about. By highlighting one new North Texas-sprung tune every week day, our hope is that you’ll find something new to love about the rich and abundant DFW music scene five days a week.
Bastards of Soul – “Glass of Ashes”
RIYL: the golden sounds of Stax and Motown
What else you should know: Life is never fair, and there are times when it’s incredibly unfair. For those who loved the retro-soul of the Bastards of Soul, the unexpected death of frontman Chadwick Murray last year is still a crushing feeling. Previously a bass player who loved singing soul and R&B in the shower, Wick was recommended by a bandmate for this fledgling band with North Texas scene vets Danny Balis, Chad Stockslager, Matt Trimble and Chris Holt.
From their fantastic first show at the Twilite Lounge on, they became one of the must-see bands around here. A reverent take on a time when session players from the Motown and Stax stables backed superstars in a live setting, the Bastards of Soul’s stature continued to grow.
Cruelly, Wick passed away as their second LP of originals, Corners, was completed at Niles City Sound. Now we have two albums scheduled to be released this year, we got to hear nearly five minutes of new material recently. And “Glass of Ashes” is another great entry in their catalog.
A mid-tempo jam from start to finish that recalls the joy of legends like Al Green and Brenton Wood, “Glass of Ashes” is beautifully accented by horns and female backing vocals in the chorus. The repeated line of “Can’t stop thinking” gets right in your noggin and stays there after the song finishes.
Made intentionally with a throwback feel, the Bastards of Soul catalog cuts right into what makes R&B and soul from the 1960s and 1970s so timeless. Magic happens when you let a band of ace musicians play off each other in the same room and taking cues from body language.
As sad as we all are for the loss of Wick, hearing material this engaging and memorable is a testament to him and his memory. He put his life into his vocals, and this kind of documentation is vital.
Cover photo by Mike Brooks.