The Votaries of Rock and Soul - The Votaries of Rock and Soul

The Votaries of Rock and Soul

The Votaries of Rock and Soul
self-released; 2016

3.8 out of 5

By Jamie Funk
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The Votaries of Rock and Soul is a band from Michigan consisting of Adam Sneed (vocals/bass/Rhodes/synths), Sam Heidepriem (guitar/vocals) and Eric McDowell (drums). This band is a blast.

On their self-titled effort The Votaries of Rock and Soul they make delightfully, unpretentious music that is ridiculously easy to enjoy. Some music takes effort which is fine. This music instantly reverberates against your Dopamine sensors to let you know it's time to dance.

The band's music harks back to previous decades ranging from around the ’60s to the early ’90s. Right off the bat I was teleported back  to the ’90s when I heard “Turn You On.” Not sure if this song was directly influenced by The Talking Heads but I certainly heard aspects of the band in the song.

“(This Is Me) Telling You Off” is classic sweet R&B for the ladies. It almost sounded like a parody in the essence of the hilarious duo Flight of the Conchords. It’s a groovy, catchy song but it also feels distinctly different than the opener.

They continue to impress with “I Know What I Want.” It’s a slick smooth track with an exceptional instrumental breakdown.”Miss You Love You” is one of the more emotionally resonant tracks with hints of melancholy. I was actually admittedly surprised how effective they were. “Night After Night (Disco Zombie)” is a Franz Ferdinand/Prince style romp that is perhaps the grooviest track on the album.

The Votaries of Rock and Soul is a solid band and I don’t think it's out of sorts for me to say that these guys probably kill it live. The album is slightly scattered with different sub-genres but nothing felt too out of place. Overall, this is a solid album that delivers some formidable grooves.

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