Auldist:

(Tru Thoughts)

www.tru-thoughts.co.uk

BRP&CAS:

 (Truth & Soul)

www.truthandsoulrecords.com

Here are a couple of fine new entries in the re-emergence and re-invigoration of vintage soul sounds that has been gaining steam over the past few years.

With the likes of Amy Winehouse and Duffy making inroads on the mainstream and Sharon Jones bubbling under, only slightly less visible, Australian singer Kylie Auldist's Just Say is as timely as it is magnificent and announces her as a force to be reckoned with. Auldist is collaborating with her compatriots in deep funk outfit The Bamboos (a collaboration announced by the disc's subtitle, "The Bamboos Present"): she's backed by the band, augmented by strings, and Bamboo Lance Ferguson produced the disc and co-wrote most of the songs with Auldist. [Editor's note: this is not the same Bamboos, from Perth, that was part of the Australian garage/psychedelic scene in the 1980s.]

But this is far from a straight-up funk record, although the funk does show up in a couple of classic JB-styled numbers, "Cut You Loose" and "Gotsta Get Some." Auldist and the Bamboos prove themselves wonderfully capable of operating across a range of soul styles: the Motown sounds of "Just Say" and the Bacharach/Warwick-like soul-pop shades of "Community Service Announcement," the Philadelphia Soul-style swooping strings of "Make Me Want More," the horn and glock accents of the driving "That's Why," the blue-eyed sound of "Never did I Stop Loving You" (which easily could be taken for a Paul Weller outtake). That range, along with Auldist's powerful, rasp-edged vocals and the Bamboos' instrumental prowess, make for a remarkably self-assured debut.

San Sebastian 152 is a collaboration, too, one that stretches from the mainland to the Caribbean. The record has its origins in a 2006 trip that the members of Bronx River Parkway made to San Juan for the purpose of recording with a collective of Puerto Rican musicians, dubbed the Candela All Stars, many with links to titans of the island's musical past. This is the result: a blend of the New Yorkers' brand of deep funk ‘n' soul with Puerto Rican popular music traditions , a ferocious new Latin soul sound that veers from the metronomic percussive drive and flair of "Agua Con Sal" to the slinky trumpet lines and hypnotic groove of "La Valla" the mid-tempo Afro-Cuban vibe of "Nora Se Va," the potent mix of conga, horns, and flute on the title track, the moody atmospherics of "Me Toca" and the sweet, stately soul of "Mi Corazon." San Sebastian 152, especially, but Just Say, too, each in their own way represent revivalism at its best, working old sounds and styles to make something fresh.

Standout tracks: "Make Me Want More," "That's Why" (Auldist); "La Valla," "Mi Corazon" (BRP) STUART MUNRO