Unlock Your Mind<\/em><\/p>\n (Universal)<\/p>\n 5\/5<\/p>\n Get ready to eargasm. Over and over and over again. With Unlock Your Mind<\/em>, eight-piece New Orleans jazz band the Soul Rebels (a.k.a. the Soul Rebels Brass Band) bring you the funkiest 13 tunes this side of 1978.<\/p>\n Trumpet, trombone, tenor sax, tuba, and percussion are all layered on heavy, with vocal styles ranging from soul to hip-hop. Guests Cyril Neville, Trombone Shorty, and Leo Nocentelli boost this album from stratospheric to out of this world.<\/p>\n First track \u201c504\u201d is a highlight, with its smooth vocals and solid horns. A reggae cover of the Staple Singers\u2019 chill, positive \u201cUnlock Your Mind\u201d evokes drinking out of a coconut on a beach. And \u201cLet Your Mind Be Free\u201d is the perfect party song, with its upbeat tempo, old-school vocals, and command to \u201cfree your mind and jump!\u201d<\/p>\n It would be a crime not to listen to the latest offering from these New Orleans jazz kings. A funky, funky crime.<\/p>\n -Rose Jang<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ringo Starr<\/strong><\/p>\n Ringo 2012<\/em><\/p>\n (Hip-O)<\/p>\n 3.5\/5<\/p>\n I have a theory that all Ringo Starr albums – all 17 of them – sound the same. The songs plod forward relentlessly, with simple song structure, instrumentation, and vocal lines that don\u2019t stretch Ringo\u2019s limited range. The songs are old-school rock \u2018n\u2019 roll with a country twang and the odd jolt of steel drums or accordion. The drumming is simple and prominent. The songs all drive forward like the world\u2019s most reliable train.<\/p>\n So, if Ringo is so simple and predictable, why listen to Ringo 2012<\/em>? For early rock \u2018n\u2019 roll covers of Buddy Holly\u2019s \u201cThink It Over\u201d and prison song \u201cRock Island Line.\u201d For Ringo\u2019s relentless positivity, singing us \u201can anthem of peace and love\u201d and encouraging us to \u201cnever give up.\u201d For charming, uplifting songs like \u201cWonderful,\u201d with its classic guitar solo.<\/p>\n And because, at 71 years old, Ringo 2012<\/em> is still Ringo, after all. Simple.<\/p>\n -Rose Jang<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Boys Who Say No<\/strong><\/p>\n Contingencies<\/em><\/p>\n (self-relased)<\/p>\n 4\/5<\/p>\n Not many bands feature stars from Degrassi: The Next Generation<\/em> among their ranks. In fact, I can only think of one. That band is Boys Who Say No, a group of four childhood friends from Toronto, one of whom (Mike Lobel) portrays Jay Hogart in the aforementioned primetime television show.<\/p>\n Luckily, this isn\u2019t another case of \u201cI\u2019m an okay actor, so I\u2019ll obviously be a fantastic musician, too.\u201d Upon listening to Boys Who Say No\u2019s new album, Contingencies<\/em>, <\/em>most will agree he\u2019s far better suited to making music.<\/p>\n The boys use clever lyrics and sonically pleasing rhythms to lure the listener in and keep them there with a pop-inspired indie-rock style.<\/p>\n With the deliverance of entertaining live shows and professional sounding studio productions, you\u2019re going to want to say yes to Boys Who Say No.<\/p>\n -Lucas Milroy<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Soul-Rebels-Brass-Band-\u2013-Unlock-Your-Mind.jpg\" "\\"Soul")
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