MENAHAN STREET BAND - The Crossing LP

Label: Daptone Records

In addition to their role as the official house band for Brooklyn-based Dunham Records, Menahan Street Band has received critical praise for their oft-sampled 2008 debut album Make The Road By Walking (sampled by Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Kid Cudi, Curren$y and more) and for backing breakout soul singer Charles Bradley on his 2011 debut album No Time For Dreaming (co-written and produced by MSB co-founder and multi-instrumentalist Thomas Brenneck). ''Vibe is a quintessential element in what I'm going for,'' says Brenneck of creating the album. ''Vibe, mood and emotion.'' Those three elements are all over The Crossing, from the opening drum roll of the ominous title track, through the tonal burst of wah-wah guitar on the closing ''Ivory and Blue.'' The Crossing takes you on a cinematic instrumental journey through a nocturnal landscape of moods and emotions, propelled by funky, hip-hopin influenced grooves and dream-like horn and keyboard melodies.