The Inciters
Bring Back the Weekend
Pirate Press Records
The Inciters have been keeping the fire of Northern Soul burning for over 30 years. The Santa Cruz-based 10-piece band specializes in hard-driving, horn-powered tunes aimed at moving feet and filling dance floors. The band’s music sounds like it could have come out of Muscle Shoals 60 years ago. Northern soul emerged in the North of England in the ’70s as a movement obsessed with obscure American Soul music from small labels like VeeJay, Shout, and Okeh. Over the years, brands have adopted this sound as their own and have been creating original music that keeps this raw soul sound alive. The Inciters emerged from the neo-Mod movement in the ’90s that help spawn the third wave ska movement.
Bring Back the Weekend captures a lot of the band’s live energy. When they recorded, they did as much as they could live in the studio. They set up the rhythm section in the main room of the studio with the brass section in an insolation room and the three vocalists in another isolation room. Everyone could see everyone else, and they tried to get as much as they could in one take. There are overdubs, but those were kept to a minimum.
The album kicks off with “Bring Back the Weekend,” a rousing Motown-inspired ode to escaping the work week. “Boot and Soul” is an anthem to dancing away life’s tensions. “We Gave It a Good Run” is a celebration of walking away from a bad relationship. For the Inciters, celebrating the ups and downs of life is their reason to exist.
The Inciters have been cooped up in Santa Cruz for too long, what with pandemics and all. The band are currently doing what they love best, playing their music to live audiences around Europe. I’ll be looking to see if they come my way when they’re back in the States.
www.facebook.com/theinciters
