DUSTYGROOVE (dustygroove.com)
The lovelite's burning strong on this second set from The Sweet Vandals -- an album that cooks even more than their debut! The grooves are even tighter than before -- still steeped in 60s soul influences, but with a heavier dose of funk too -- a mad-romping blend of hard drums, bad-stepping bass, and heavy Hammond -- all topped by the searing soul vocals of Mayka Edjole! These guys hail from Spain, but have a deep funk groove that's plenty universal -- and with an album this strong, you can bet we'll be hearing plenty from them on this side of the Atlantic in coming years. Lyrics are all in English, and titles include "Funky Children", "Thank You For You", "Good Thing", "I Hate To Hate You", "What About Love", "Every Woman Is A Diva", "Opposites", and "Speak
Music".
PARIS DJS (parisdjs.com)
"Lovelite" is a warm, rough but nevertheless determined piece of music full of energy funk and deep black soul surrounded by a touch of groove. Songs like "Funky Children" or " What about Love" seem to reflect the magic of Dusty Springfield in Mayka's voice. Songs like "Againstupidity" evoke the spirit of Soul -and Funk- godfather James Brown. "Every Woman Is A Diva" highlights the band’s uniqueness and their charming ability of self-irony. Another especially tasty piece of music is "I Hate To Hate You", structured like a classic Sixties-Motown-Song but decorated with a certain roughness that is typical to the Sweet Vandals' sound - raw funk sound.
-Djouls.
PROPERLY CHILLED (Properlychilled.com)
For their second album, the Sweet Vandals have served up a delicious menu of Hammond-drench funk, gently marinated in a soul sauce. Singer Mayka Edjole is a true soul diva and knows how to belt it out, while the rest of the band keep the grooves lean and tight.
Highlights include the pumped-up opener "Thank You For You" which will be a sure fire hit on the rare groove scene and is as funky as anything the Dap-Kings or the Bamboos have come up with.
On "What About Love" and "Every Woman Is A Diva" they up the soul factor with a track with a strong Dusty Springfield flavor.
The band's love of all things analogue mean that this was recorded using vintage equipment to give it that authentic swinging sound. The horn sections are never less than tremendous and the drumming is clean and tight. "Love Lite" was named after the Berlin venue where they have played and the Sweet Vandals are currently touring Europe at the moment. This long player cements their reputation as deep funk superstars and a force to be reckoned with.
~ Jamie Hailstone
WE GO FUNK (wegofunk.com)
Après un premier album qui a été l’une des bonnes surprises de l’année 2007 et un nombre important de concerts à travers l’Europe, les Sweet Vandals reviennent avec un nouvel opus intitulé Lovelite. Le titre fait référence au club berlinois dans lequel ils ont rencontré Henry Storch, producteur leur ayant permis de lancer leur carrière discographique sur le label Unique Records.
Alternant funk rugueux et soul, les onze titres s’inscrivent dans la continuité du précédent album et contribuent à définir l’identité musicale du groupe madrilène. La voix de Mayka Edjo se démarque ainsi des autres chanteuses de sa catégorie grâce à sa puissance et son accent espagnol qui la rendent immédiatement identifiable. Sur le plan musical, le groupe n’a heureusement pas trop souffert du départ de Carlo Coupé, et l’orgue hammond reste un élément prédominant du son des Vandals, enrichi par la présence de cuivres sur quelques titres, comme Thank You for You et What About Love.
Toujours extrêmement référencé, le travail des Sweet Vandals évoque ainsi des grandes figures, notamment les incontournables JB’s, mais aussi le travail plus récent du label Daptone Records et de son groupe phare Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings.
Ce disque se distingue de son prédécesseur par une plus grande variété dans les styles abordés. En effet, là où The Sweet Vandals était presque exclusivement dévoué au funk, ce second album laisse une plus grande place à des ballades soul qui contribuent à élargir le répertoire du groupe, à l’exemple de I Hate to Hate You et Opposites. Il reste néanmoins dans la lignée de son prédécesseur, comme en témoigne Thank You For You, premier morceau donnant le ton de l’album. Porté par une ligne de basse entraînante et le souffle des cuivres, il rappelle les raisons pour lesquelles le groupe avait attiré l’attention des amateurs du genre à la sortie du premier opus. D’autres titres, à l’image d’Againstupidity ou de Speak Music, laissent présager de concerts énergiques, auxquels le groupe a su habituer le public ces deux dernières années.
Lovelite confirme donc la bonne surprise constituée par The Sweet Vandals à sa sortie, et devrait permettre au groupe espagnol d’investir durablement la scène funk européenne.
PHILAFLAVA
Like any of da gawd's better masterpieces, Madrid's The Sweet Vandals make their crease by excelling in several key elements of the formula they follow. The singer Mayka Edjo has loads of energy and a great set of pipes, aided by a touch of a sexy spanish accent as despite the band's origins the vocals are in english. The band provides more than adequate backing. What really stands out to me is the song writing ability. Whereas many other similar groups can funk their ass off with results that are largely shapeless the Vandals reign in the groove a bit to craft good melodies, and this gives their work a polished feel which still doesn't sacrifice much of the raw quality that is so appealing about this kind of music.
Their new album Lovelite is out now, these tracks are from it. Fans of Sharon Jones and similar business should definitely give it a try.
