The Miracle Sweat
Toronto, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2015 | SELF
Music
Press
8/10
In his latest incarnation, the ever-morphing Jon Epworth has fully submerged himself in the sound and aesthetic of classic soul to create a musical persona of a calibre that would nestle sublimely between Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings or Charles Bradley on a well-curated festival schedule. The immensely talented multi-instrumentalist and highly malleable songwriter (check out his brilliant one-man King Crimson album as Failure Epics) leaves the fret, key and stick work to a top-notch backing band aptly dubbed the Miracle Sweat, freeing him to fully unleash his absurdly powerful voice.
The potency, expressiveness and range of Epworth's vocals can't be overstated. This man can wail like James Brown or Robert Plant, then comfortably dip into the buttery heart-tugging emotional resonance of the aforementioned Sharon Jones, or, dare I suggest it, Aretha Franklin.
Epworth's reflective, confessional lyrical introspection jibes (and jives) well with the expertly constructed throwback sound — complete with classy horn harmonies, warm backing vocals and sophisticated key signature modulations underused by many a modern songwriter.
Whether this cathartic soul workout is a one-off look back while pushing forward or the launching of a new island of sound to explore as time and the creative muse permits, Jon Epworth's Miracle Sweat is a divine endeavour. (Independent) - Exlclaim! Magazine
JON EPWORTH is a singer and drummer who works in and around Canada's beautiful British Columbia. Musically he's a jack of all genres.... working with the Dean Malenkos, Jon was a punk rocker; then with The Improvements it was hard rock all the way; with the Failure Epics, Mr E moved on up to prog rock!
At last, thank goodness, Jon's found soul and with his new band The Miracle Sweat he's just released a 6 track EP on which he sets out to re-create the sounds of classic Stax... and he doesn't make such a bad job of it.
Musically Jon and his Sweaters get it mostly right... especially with the drum, organ and brass sound though in places Jon still shows his hard rock roots (listen to 'Hypocritical Brother' to hear what I mean). Best cut to these old ears is the energy-packed 'Keepin' It Where It's At' which is the band's attempt to do "Stax do Motown".... it's quite infectious and serious Northern soulers could do worse than check it out.
Making it all sound more authentic is the fact that the tracks were all recorded live on analogue tape with the vocals added in just one or two takes and the whole thing is available on vinyl. - Soul and Jazz and Funk (UK review site)
Discography
The Miracle Sweat - S/T - 2015
The Miracle Sweat - Volume 2 - tba 2017
Photos
Bio
Jon Epworth & The Miracle Sweat started out as a love letter to Stax- and Motown-era soul, as penned by a rock vocalist. After a couple of brief appearances at a Toronto club open mic night, their first gig was near capacity and they played their second to a packed Horseshoe tavern. They play shows as a tight 5-piece unit or as a swinging 10-piece outfit with horns et al. Regardless of the band's size, though, the energy is always huge.
They received full FACTOR funding for their debut, self-titled album, which netted an 8/10 review in Exclaim! magazine: "...The potency, expressiveness and range of Epworth's vocals can't be overstated. This man can wail like James Brown or Robert Plant, then comfortably dip into the buttery heart-tugging emotional resonance of [...] Sharon Jones, or, dare I suggest it, Aretha Franklin..."
This past August, Jon and the group holed up in a new Toronto studio/performance space (The Root Down) and recorded a new full-length album. It's less of a paean to a specific era of music this time around, incorporating funk, fusion, hard-rock and some slow-burning soul numbers into a body of work that is unique, emotional, spacey and, for lack of a better term, even a little proggy. Whatever the style or genre might be in any given song, The Miracle Sweat make sure everybody is up and moving for every minute, and they really, really wanna see you sweat.
(Jon also has a west-coast "chapter" of the Miracle Sweat called "Vic City Sweat" who help him bring these songs to the stage on Vancouver Island.)
Band Members
Links
