Photo: Aloud Jen de la Osa
By Mike O’Cull
Los Angeles soul/rock band Aloud comes on strong with its new full-length album Sprezzatura, which will see daylight on May 8th, 2020 via the Lemon Merchant label. The record is jam packed with highly addictive music that combines a Muscle Shoals vibe with the drive and energy of modern guitar-based pop/rock. It shows the influence of songwriting rock bands like Oasis and The Who as well as the horns-and-emotive-vocals sound of the classic soul music era. Produced by Benny Grotto and Aloud, the set is an impressive example of how valid and exciting straightforward, well-written rock music still is and, in a better, vanished time, would be a platinum-selling smash. As a band, Aloud has an intrinsic power that explodes out of your speakers and moves the heart, spirit, and body in wonderful, unexplainable ways that can’t be fully described, only experienced.
Aloud is built on the bedrock talents of Henry Beguiristain (vocals, guitars, Mellotron) and Jen de la Osa (vocals, guitars, piano). The two have made music together since they were teenagers coming of age in one of Miami’s working-class Cuban communities and discovered a shared love of rock and roll. They alternate lead and harmony vocals with each other and display the kind of musical chemistry required to make it to the top. Charles Murphy (bass, backing vocals) and Chuck Ferreira (drums, percussion) complete the band’s lineup and the four players create and perform as a single entity connected by passion, intuition, and skill.
Sprezzatura opens with the record’s lead single “Loving U’s a Beautiful Thing,” a mighty radio-worthy track sung by Jen de la Osa. She treats listeners to her big-time vocal belt over a punchy horn-propelled track that rocks with abandon. Beguiristain’s guitar is also a solid sender here, adding all the necessary grit and attitude to snap fans out of the smoothed-out, electronic haze of mainstream music. The entire group punches hard from the get-go and holds nothing back. Jen’s voice lives somewhere between Ann Wilson and Annie Lenox has the same clarity and stadium-rocking authority as the two superstars.
“Waiting (Scenes From A Lonely Planet)” follows and brings Beguiristain’s smooth and confident lead vocals to the fore while Jen weaves her voice in and out of his parts. The song is another energetic and tuneful rocker tinged with just enough soul to make it brilliant. “Lovers Of The Last Resort” is dynamic, cinematic and again puts Jen’s vocals at center stage. The track has a desperate romanticism to it that tugs at the heart as the song’s intensity ebbs and flows. It’s a fine bit of work that could stand on its own as a single.
“Renters For Life” mixes rock, soul, and Latin ideas into a song about someone who has discovered that the suburban white-picket-fence life many Americans are programmed to desire in childhood has little personal appeal. It’s a love song dedicated to the youthful, urban lifestyle of artists, musicians, and other creatives who find their mode outside of typical social constructs. It’s an uncommon lyrical angle but Jen handles it well and makes it one of the record’s best moments. It’s a subtle, genuine song in which a whole lot of people will see themselves reflected.
“Been So Long Since We’ve Seen The Sun” concludes Sprezzatura by Aloud on a mellow, introspective note complete with gorgeous strings, soaring harmonies, and a chilled-out groove. Both voices intertwine for maximum emotional effect here and the song is a perfect short, sweet closer. Aloud is an extremely talented bunch that writes a better song than the bulk of their peers. Great songs make careers, as we know, and Sprezzatura has more than its share. These tracks are going to light up scads of tuneful rock fans this year and could very well take Aloud all the way to the Promised Land. Don’t let this great release escape your attention.
Aloud Online
Awesome! Can’t wait to hear this album.
Love it