Stone Mecca's Wu brand, stamped upon them after a successful stint as RZA's touring band, is still raw. But while the nine-member new-soul consortium earned their letters backing RZA and company on tour, the Californians 'earthen sound is nothing like the glacial soul shards that powered Shaolin's finest '90s output. It's much easier listening. First Contact mashes out two-step ready grooves, introspective slow burners and some sleepy filler with an Afrocentric bent, attempting to make up for what it lacks in novelty in execution.

The band — a little-heard designation in contemporary soul — coalesces towards neat and tight rhythms, like on the Slinky of a song, "Strugglin.'" A coarse soprano offers a therapeutic ear within gummy percussion, whispering, "What can I do to help you through this?" "Come Home" comforts as well, although not as distinctively, on a similar get-right kick. Hokily-titled instrumental "Life Music" fires with an island heat and "Good Woman," an ominous funk number, recounts the story of a fallen woman who's primed to get up. Where elsewhere the songs plod, the understated vocalists elevate the material, as does the constant theme of self-help. It's cliché for indie soul, but rare enough on most frequencies to… read more »