Since banding together in 2011, the soul rockers of The Reckless Kind have been churning up a brand of music they call heavy soul. Last August, the group dropped its debut album Golden Age of Thinking, as an homage to the music that inspires the entire project: rock and roll, soul and rhythm and blues. Bassist Brian Miu recently explained over email that, for his band, “These genres are the Golden Age of music. We take these musical inspirations and put our own heavy spin to it.” This description brings to mind the 1960s San Francisco-inspired category that so many bands are pigeonholed into, but instead of shrugging off such comparisons, the band revels in it.
With an affinity for the past that lies deeper than genre, the band recorded its album the old-fashioned way – every sound “was done by real people playing actual instruments,” describes Brian. “We did our best to stay true to the classic recording methods that were used on the records we love from the past. This ideology is part of the reason we titled the album Golden Age Thinking.”
Featuring an eight-piece lineup, the band has not only the manpower needed to resurrect its different influences, but also the finesse required to bridge those sounds together. With guitars anchoring its music in a solid rock foundation, the group layers on the polish with keyboard organ, tenor sax and trumpet while vocalist Phillip Mills has just enough grit in his voice to give him an edge and more than enough gusto to hold down a soul ballad. Brian explains, “You can expect dancey grooves, catchy dueling guitar riffs, energetic horns, and tasteful vocal harmonies.”
The Reckless Kind is bringing its signature neo-soul rock sound and some new tunes to Milk Bar tomorrow, May 17th, along with Portland-based outfit Rags & Ribbons, San Diego’s Belmont Lights and San Francisco’s own Rosa Grande. In the meantime, here’s the band’s music video from “Blood Everywhere,” staring the most badass Barbie doll on Youtube.
The Reckless Kind, Rags & Ribbons, Belmont Lights, Rosa Grande
Milk Bar
May 17, 2013
9pm, $10, 21+
