Brother Wallace - Electric Love (ATO Records) 
Release Date: Out Now
Apologies everyone. I've been enjoying this record so much I forgot to sit down and write about it! Regular readers will know I've been falling hard for Brother Wallace by virtue of a string of outstanding singles but now we come to the big one, the debut album 'Electric Love'. We get going with the strut of recent single 'Who's That' with a beat and bass combo that takes you for a walk before the Brother himself joins in backed by a stack of horns and backing vocals. The smooth soul of 'You're The Man' is the perfect of classic blues, modern RnB and the kind of swagger that gets straight into your hips and shoulders.
With a piano riff straight outta Motown, 'Gone With The Wind' transports you straight to Detroit while title track 'Electric Love' keeps the piano going in the bass underneath some pretty euphoric brass. Man oh man the piano bass notes that get 'Top Shotta' going are like a siren call to the dance floor and the preaching vocals reinforce the call but the beat doesn't drop until the second verse making the kick that much harder. We get a chance to catch our breath on 'No God In This Town', a soulful slow jam featuring some understated organ and a slow sway of a beat before the urgent Blues Brothers romp of 'Who Do You Love' gets us back on the road at 100mph with the windows rolled down.
The intimate acoustic strum of 'Any Day Now' catches you off guard and reminds you of the pain behind the joy in some of this music, a timely reminder with lush strings. You can hear the reverberation of the snare on the intro to 'A Patient Man' and that simple sound just fills the air with the potential of the song to come - and don't worry, the song more than lives up to that potential with a marching soul anthem that will have everyone sweating by the time it reaches the climax. There's another drop in energy on 'Midnight Valley' with an almost mournful tone while the playful keys of 'Jealous' belie the heartbreak in the lyrics.
This is a fifteen track beast of album and there is not one filler in there which makes this a seriously impressive record but a simply outstanding debut. The piano and vocal jam of 'Hope Of Fools' is a great example of a simple track with straightforward piano riff used to show off Brother Wallace's impressive vocal to devastating effect. Then the switch to the most uplifting song on the album 'Let's Get Together' which should frankly be played at the White House on a 24 hour a day loop turned up to 11.
The album finishes with a pair of shorter tracks with 'Honey' providing the perfect little encore jam for the live shows and the sub-two minute 'Me and My Running Shows' showing what Brother Wallace can do with his voice, a guitar and a bottle neck for a little bit of Bluegrass fun. Honestly, there have been some great albums this year but if this one isn't in the running for album of the year then we're in for a great second half of 2026.
More information: https://www.instagram.com/brotherwallaceofficial/
Live Dates: