Artist: Electric Wire Hustle
Album: Every Waking Hour (2009)
Track: “Waters”

Another eclectic, soulful endeavor from New Zealand.

It starts out with a spelling lesson on an organic tambourine and cracking snare. “T-e-s-t t-h-e w-a-t-e-r-s/Test the waters.” On “Gimme That Kinda” and “Perception” the group calls to the production of J Dilla (what I now call A.D. production - After Dilla), especially on the latter where it almost sounds like they layer on top of the Minnie Riperton’s “Inside My Love” that Dilla seemed to dig so much. Two of my favorite songstresses representing the best in American soul, Atlanta’s Stacy Epps and California’s Georgia Anne Muldrow, brings their talents across the Pacific Ocean to showcase their goods. “Chaser” was one of the first tracks I heard from the group, a smooth style over a speed-walking hi-hat and wobbly bassline. “Thank You Steve” has a sweet ass keyboard lead. More than likely it’s a nod to Steve Spacek who showed up on their debut E.P. as a guest. So let your dollar circulate to Electric Wire Hustle.

For a debut album, Every Waking Hour is mature beyond its years and as deep as sounds can go. It’s got sounds from America, like Mara TK’s Dwele or Bilal-like vocals, to the aforementioned Dilla influence, but they seem to internalize it and come back with something bigger, grander, and all their own. They’ve taken the nu-soul of the late 1990’s, added grit and more boom-clap and funk, and churned it out into the 2009 without blinking.

Every Waking Hour serves as a companion to what might be referred to as EWH’s older brother, Fat Freddy’s Drop, who put out another stellar release this year. While Fat Freddy’s Drop is more of a known entity outside of their native New Zealand, having hit No. 1 on the national album charts before, Electric Wire Hustle deserves just as much shine for this album. Real soul music is alive and well. And no boundary - physical or otherwise - is too big to stop it inevitably finding the real souls.

Tracklist:

01. Waters
02. Gimme That Kinda
03. Perception
04. Again
05. Walk On ft. Stacy Epps
06. Buy Some Land Put a House On It
07. This World ft. Georgia Anne Muldrow
08. Thank You Steve
09. Jupiter ft. Declaime
10. Burn ft. Billy TK
11. Chaser
12. They Don’t Want
13. Tom Boy