The Debonaires

Debonaires-Self-titled
California's the Debonaires blew me away with this follow-up to Groovin' After Sundown. Their sound has changed a bit. I believe they lost their singer and tenor sax player, while picking up a new tenor sax/singer and a trumpet player. While I thought Groovin' After Sundown was a technically good and pleasant sounding album, it never caught me. I've hardly listened to it, it just never seemed to sound quite "right" and realize its potential. I'd say they realize that potential on this album, and it seems as though that potential was goddamn enormous. Upon hearing the first track, "Criminals," I was immediately struck by the great, soulful vocals of the new singer over the sweet reggae. There is also a great dub sounding bridge in the middle, the transitions to and from which are perfectly executed. I went on to really dig all the vocal tracks. They sound very influenced by, and remind me of, artists such as the Heptones and Delroy Wilson-high praise, my opinion. There is actually a cover of the Paragon's (or maybe just John Holt's?) "Left with a Broken Heart." The Debonaires definitely do it justice. The dub tracks and instrumentals are excellent as well. They display diversity-Gracia y Vega shows off a great guitar part, while Fortune Teller is also horn-driven. Many of the tracks are driven by, or at least feature prominently, the a badass organ part. In comparsion to other contemporary acts, these guys remind me of Westbound Train meets Pressure Cooker meets the Rhythm Doctors, except while I like all three of those bands quite a bit, I like this more. Between this release and primosonic rhythms, I have the utmost respect for the Rivercidal Records label

- http://www.geocities.com/rude_pete/index.htm