★★★★★
The New Mastersounds, a four-piece funk band out of Leeds, is perhaps having an identity crisis. After 15 years of performing, ten years of U.S. working visas, and now a ninth studio album, the "New" prefix may be out of place. Rather than wallow, a self-prescribed dose of has the band getting back to their feet, and will get you on yours, too...
- exclaim.ca
2014-05-13
★★★★★
One Note On Out On the Faultline, The New Mastersounds strut toward a viable claim as the most progressive funk band out there. Hints of, and homage to, an old-school jazz-funk sound are prevalent throughout, but the development of an edgier, more imaginative direction is the overriding takeaway while listening to this well-paced and varied record...
- www.jambands.com
2013-01-24
★★★★★
One Note On Out On the Faultline, The New Mastersounds strut toward a viable claim as the most progressive funk band out there. Hints of, and homage to, an old-school jazz-funk sound are prevalent throughout, but the development of an edgier, more imaginative direction is the overriding takeaway while listening to this well-paced and varied record...
- www.relix.com
2012-12-14
★★★★★
Summary: A blast from the past. 'Out On The Faultline' is an exceptional homage to old school Jazz-funk that is both adventurous and accesible. 12 of 14 thought this review was well written Out On The Faultline is not just an album, it's also a time machine. It goes backwards and forwards, connecting us with many different eras in music history. It's our window into the past, one that allows us to familiarize ourselves with the trends and styles of a changing America...
- www.sputnikmusic.com
2012-11-05
★★★★★
Tallest Man While staying true to their contemporary funk roots, The New Mastersounds delve into fresh musical territory on Breaks from the Border, serving up a new-fangled blend of inspired and virtuosic soul-grooves. Drummer Simon Allen dials up the tempo to a near-sprint for "Run the Gauntlet," the first of a handful of pulsating instrumental grooves...
- www.relix.com
2011-10-17
★★★★★
The title of The New Mastersounds' latest, Breaks from the Border, refers to the fact that the album was recorded in the border town of Tornillo, Texas, but it may as well refer to the musical position in which the band finds itself in the wake of the album's release. With the incorporation of vocals into the band's intoxicating instrumental mix of funk, jazz, and soul, the quartet finds itself at a precipice...
- www.glidemagazine.com
2011-09-29
★★★★★
Don't be confused by the subtitle here; this is a British band that lays its foundations in bedrock American funk. "Pioneers'' is unambiguously accurate, though: The New Mastersounds have been plying their trade since the early days of the ongoing funk and soul revival, as "Masterology'' attests. Over a CD-stuffing 78 minutes, this compilation surveys the band's history, from a 2000 single (the curious but delicious "Ode to Bobbie Gentry'') on through 2009's full-length, "Ten Years On...
- www.boston.com
2010-12-06
★★★★★
The current resurging interest in the sweat drenched, grunt 'n' holler genre of early funk means that clubs from San Francisco to Tokyo now throb to the ultra-obscure sounds of Mickey & The Soul Generation, Little Grady Lewis & Soul Smokers, and other wonderful but less than legendary acts...
- www.bbc.co.uk
2009-06-02
★★★★★
On this, their second album, Leed's The New Mastersounds expand upon their pure funk template to include a subtler spectrum of textures. The usual blistering funk is still there, but is augemented by a more relaxed jazz/soul approach. The opener, "This Ain't Work", is classic Mastersounds, but is then followed by the breezy "Your Love Is Mine", featuring the vocals of the sublime Corinne Bailey Rae. Her approach is reminiscent of Minnie Riperton's soul jazz sound of the early 1970s...
- www.bbc.co.uk
2009-06-02