"A New Sonic Gospel"

Showcasing a diverse palette of musical genres, Sovereign Sounds debut album offers an intriguing mix of ballads, blues, jazz and classic rock. Like a vintage cabernet, their music resonates with notes and textures from the 1970's that is delightfully satisfying from the very first sip.

The band has an intuitive knack for rhythm and meter, and you’ll find much poetry on their new album, The Eagle Has Landed. If music born out of Sunday worship leaves you thinking that perhaps this isn’t for you, think again. This record is not simply about delivering a message - though it does so brilliantly - these are songs you can fall in love with for a variety of reasons.

American Dream echoes the soulful R&B musings of such Motown classics as Marvin Gaye's Inner City Blues. The beautifully haunting, Where Do The Children Play?denounces school gun violence whilst begging the question, 'Where do we go from here?' Face to Face tells the poignant story of a father's steadfast love for his daughter. (Lauren Brown delivers the vocal performance of the set here.)

Written and produced by tenor sax player Gary Ochs, the remainder of the ten song playlist covers much ground from the funky reggae of Barricades to Heaven to the tongue in cheek bantering of North Beach Tagging Blues and the breezy, contemporary jazz instrumental, If I Could Touch The Sky. The fact that the title track channels rock legend Neil Young is an added bonus. Come for the music, stay for the message perhaps.

Whilst the country rock sensibilities of American music icons such as The Eagles, Crosby, Stills & Nash and Jackson Browne are neatly woven into the fabric of their sound, the fact that Sovereign Sounds was born out of a church worship band also plays into their “music with a message.” Songwriting from the late 60’s era of consciousness meets the sound of a new sonic gospel. How cool is that?

- David Franklin

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