The end of the year is coming, finally! What does that mean to many of us?: Introspection, isn’t it? Any suggestions for your “introspection” soundtrack? I do have one: Silver Tongues Black Kite.

This Louisville based-band, a party of five with art that sounds as Soul Rock, brings to our auditory sense their new album with 9 songs that will really bring a smile upon your face.

It’s a spiritual encounter of more than 30 minutes, offering vocals with trails of prayers, nostalgia, gospel structures and a smooth integration of music elements.

All tracks seem to be carefully arranged to create such an experience and energy that it wakes up your ‘good vibe’ factor, insinuating a thoughtful journey with tunes that evoke mixed images of meditation in the Eastern fashion, incorporated to gospel through voice figures and a deep background sound that goes straight to your chest, then to your tummy, as in transcendental meditation. This is a landscape obtained from the very track one, ‘Highways’; the whole composition is capable of playing with your mood and bring it back to its optimal tune.

This is a conjugation of several verbs and interesting inflections expressed through pounding drums, quiet guitars that know the exact moment to explode and get the listener involved with the general feeling, as in ‘Ketchup’ (track 2); a loud, still hopeful track that would immediately bring images of blue skies, fresh air, like the getaway needed when stuck between four walls for more than 8 hours a day.

After moods have been raised towards a new and favorable intonation, ‘Black Kite’ comes with both acoustic and electronic guitar, the second under a special and extended effect. This is to me the sound of nostalgia, a dusty memory that is called with one sound of guitar.

There’s certain feeling of grandeur in this album, which is depicted through percussions and track no. 4, ‘Warsaw’, like a vortex leading to more passionate aspect, as the soundtrack of fulfilled expectations, choirs included.

From track 5 onwards, the album takes an interesting and different direction, which I believe it’s more focused on the Soul Rock side, as it introduces a more rocky drumming, acoustic guitars with a little touch of country scenery, and vocals that seem less echoed but still make tremendously interesting twists complemented by choirs, as a reminder of our blue skies, where routine meets the extraordinary. ‘Hope For’, ‘Wet Dog’ and ‘Broken Strings’ will deliver this touch of light to your daily walk to school or to the office.

As the end approaches, tunes become slower and breathe in synchrony with the to-and-fro of the world outside your world: “you can’t spend all of your time running. Greater times for me, there will be greater times for you”. This is a nice invite made music using just an acoustic guitar, a violin and a voice that comes from the heart called ‘Greater Times’. It seems the conclusion of your reflections may come any time now.

The closer is ‘Home’, and still is a show of what Soul Rock is, and this time includes a piano based sensation that takes incredibly creative passages to arrive to the home sound.

I really must say this: the second part of the album reminded me of the chills I felt when I fist listened to R.E.M.‘s Automatic for the People, pure magic, honesty (never get tired of this), and hidden threads in flat notes used at the right moment and in the right motif, a slide to contemplate the world as it is, then you just feel like embracing the good things (but R.E.M.‘s is not that optimistic, I dare to say).

Music that gives wings to your soul, that’s how Silver Tongues sounds to me.

The album is out now on digital viaKarate Body Records. Physical release: November 29 USA (in the lovely Ear X-Tacy). Worlwide orders through Carrot Top Distribution.

Silver Tongues Website. Bandcamp. Facebook. Twitter. Last.fm.