On Friday (or May 6, if you’re in Europe), Raleigh’s Jamil Rashad is poised to launch a worldwide funk renaissance with GROOVE!, his debut LP on Captured Tracks, a New York label with a lot of deserved cachet.
Yesterday, Rashad issued the final preview of the record, “Move and Shout,” and as intended, it’s only boosted anticipation for the record. Over a classic, snapping groove, with guitar slicing through stabs and washes of synths, Rashad beckons the listener to come to the party, to forget about their “bad luck day” and let the DJ fix the mood. Into just four minutes, Rashad manages to sneak two distinct, irrepressible hooks, an extended and wonderfully geeky synthesizer vamp, and an out-of-nowhere guitar solo that snarls with the energy of a crowd racing against last call at the bar. Rashad shouts over it all—”Come on, come on, come on,” “That’s right,” “Get up. That’s right,” and so on—and you totally want to do what he says.
Don’t be surprised to hear this song in the bar this summer, or, if Captured Tracks can find a larger captive audience, from car windows. It’s that much fun.
