Black Pumas: Chronicles of a Diamond (digital outlets)

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Black Pumas: Chronicles of a Diamond (digital outlets)

One of the first singles from this second album by the multiple Grammy-nominee duo of Adrian Quesada and Eric Burdon (no, not that one grandma) was, Mrs Postman, the slice of slinky R’n’B soul with jigsaw-puzzle jazzy piano.

The earlier single from the album, More Than a Love Song, was more than a little Marvin Gaye.

They helped set up this sequel to their 2019 self-titled debut (seven Grammy nominations!) and they've slid between psychedelic soul and rock, but were also nominated for best American Roots Performance for their 2019 single Colors.

So they are hard to pigeon-hole, but if you draw Venn diagrams of Marvin, Curtis Mayfield, Sly Stone and Stax soul then somewhere between is where you'll find this Austin, Texas-based duo who don't actually live up to the radical activism their name and iconography suggests. But no matter, this is damn good.

Not a lot of new ground broken but a thoroughly enjoyable 43 minute dollop of 21st century soul with one foot and both ears in the past.

Turn on, tune in and decode.

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You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here



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