The Budos Band

Hailing from Staten Island, The Budos Band are an imposing crew of musicians (11 members deep), at the forefront of the retro Afro-soul-funk movement. Along with their label Daptone Records (Sharon Jones, Sugarman 3, Mighty Imperials, etc.), they are redefining/revisiting what it means to be funky in the 21st century. Their first full-length album, this release sports 11 instrumental jams that are guaranteed to get even the shyest wallflower onto the dancefloor, or at the very least nodding their head to the ridiculously catchy beats. Crackshot horn section, freaky organ vamps, dirty guitar licks, polyrhythmic drum breakdowns, it's all here and then some, taking you back to the glory days of R&B that didn't rely on Photoshop and Auto-Tune. This is one of those records that you can just throw on and let it ride, no need to skip that corny skit or over-the-top slow jam, because they don't exist here. Every song on here is fantastic, with standouts like "Budos Theme," "Aynotchesh Yererfu," and "The Volcano Song."