Soul Smoke is a punk band with blues influence from New York City. The trio of guitarist Andy Munante, drummer Issa Kamara and bassist Mike Estrella have known each other from playing in different bands. Munante and Kamara had a musical connection from previously playing in a band called Set Authority. Munate and Estrella also played in a band called The F.M.L’s. The fact that they were friends long before Soul Smoke started helped shape the sound. Now with their self-titled debut album Soul Smoke the band rehearsed for six months and jammed playing Munante’s original songs. From there, Estrella and Kamara brought the songs to life with the freedom and trust that their input was best for the songs.
The album starts off swinging with “The Longest Path.” While the song begins with Munante’s screeching guitar and Kamara’s drums at a frantic pace, it quickly becomes more melodically appealing. Estrella’s thunderous bass is the backbone of the track followed by a tasty guitar solo from Munante. “She (Is Coming Back to Nothing)” is a much more grungier vibe mixed with the blues. While the previous track was much more upbeat for a mosh pit, this is where you shut up and listen. Munante shows his vocal range as the second half of the song is much more somber. It’s a beautiful contrast where punk and blues mesh perfectly. “Self-Deprication” starts off on the blues front with a smooth guitar intro, but quickly devolves into pure punk chaos. Again while you want to bang your head, and get wild, Soul Smoke never loses the melodic sound in the chorus that keeps you engaged before ending the song with the same blues guitar on the outro. “Sex In SoHo” is exactly what the title implies. A catchy chorus “Meet me at the hotel and we’ll get a little higher” complements the fast pace, high-energy song. Soul Smoke ends things on the psychedelic track “4 Hours to Bliss (Demo).” It is their most experimental song on the entire album with vocal distortions and a far more spacey sound. While it does have some punk elements near the end, it’s certainly a welcome shift in tone. Soul Smoke’s EP is filled with some solid bangers. The trio of men perfectly implemented the fusion of punk rock and Blues. You can see the influences of bands like the Deftones, Green Day, Gary Clark Jr. and Eric Clapton. Musicians with an edge but who never lose the melodic basics that produce quality songs. And that’s what you get from Soul Smoke, quality. There’s even a few fake outs where you think a song is going to be one genre specific but changes completely. Even the psychedelic “4 Hours to Bliss” came completely out of nowhere, but I applaud the band to take the chance. Why not throw caution to the wind? Hopefully the bond between the three musicians continues to strengthen so they can make more quality hits.
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