The New Mastersounds Made For Pleasure

On October 2nd, 2015 The New Mastersounds return with Made For Pleasure - their most sprawling and ambitious record to date, featuring collaborations with vocalist Charly Lowry, percussionist Mike Dillon, and San Francisco-based West Coast Horns (aka tenor saxophonist Joe Cohen and trumpeter Mike Olmos.) Recorded in New Orleans, The New Mastersounds high-step through the humidity and heat leaving no soul or funk touchstone unturned. Both the title track and “High & Wide” are drenched in The-Meters-meet-Lee-Dorsey Big Easy funk, while tracks like “Enough Is Enough,” “Joy” and “Just Gotta Run” are firmly rooted in classic soul sister rhythm & blues tradition; think Tina Turner, Ann Peebles, Bettye LaVette. Super-charged by Eddie Roberts’ stinging guitar leads, “Cigar Time” and “Sitting On My Knees” take a decidedly souljazz turn, diving headlong into Grant Green grit and groove. Capping off Made For Pleasure and further validating its title is a dubbed out reinvention of Iggy Azalea’s smash hit “Fancy” that cleverly turns the pop artist’s ode to materialism into a 21st century stoner anthem with the repurposed refrain, “I’m So Irie,” sung by Denver-based rastaman, Spellbinder. The New Mastersounds know what feels good and deliver it in spades on their latest long-player. It was, after all, Made For Pleasure.