Angels in Science Fiction [B&N Exclusive] [Red & White Colored Vinyl]

by St. Paul & the Broken Bones

Overview

While St. Paul & the Broken Bones' fourth album, The Alien Coast, saw the onetime rapturous retro-soul group make strides in their transition toward more retrained, reflective, psychedelic-leaning neo-soul, Angels in Science Fiction, arriving a little over a year later, comes the closest yet to a full transformation. Their most tender, intimate album yet, it doubles as a series of letters written by singer Paul Janeway to his then-unborn daughter at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 12-track album materialized relatively quickly: The band constructed the songs in a matter of a couple months and recorded them at Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis (with producer Matt Ross-Spang), with the baby's delivery date in September 2020 lighting a fire. Playing out almost like a concept album, it begins with "Chelsea," a lyrical ballad with chord-progression-marking piano accompaniment that acts as a kind of theatrical exposition. After opening with the line "I hope you get your mother's eyes," it also introduces recurring otherworldly themes with its references to stars, planets, and angels. The album then locks into a midtempo groove with the cautionary "City Federal Building," a spacy, strings-embellished entry that leads into a legitimate slow jam, "Magnolia Trees." The rest of the album joins those tracks in dwelling among the slower tempo ranges while reflecting on the good and bad that likely await in nature, society, and Janeway's hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. Along the way, he comes closest to belting old-school-style on the looser "Oporto-Madrid Blvd," and he's perhaps at his most poignant on the minimalist "Lonely Love Song," which may do more than the former to showcase his skills as a vocalist. "Marigold," an Elton John-like orchestral piano ballad named for Janeway's daughter, closes Angels in Science Fiction, leaving fans to wonder what may come next for the group beyond the parting words, "I don't want you to be alone/But I gotta go, I've got a show." ~ Marcy Donelson

Product Details

Release Date:	04/21/2023
Label:	Barnes & Noble
UPC:	0880882459819
Rank:	1771

Tracks

1. Chelsea
2. City Federal Building
3. Magnolia Trees
4. Sea Star
5. Heat Lightning
6. Angels in Science Fiction
7. Wolf in Rabbit Clothes
8. South Dakota
9. Oporto-Madrid Blvd
10. Lonely Love Song
11. Easter Bunny
12. Marigold

Album Credits

Performance Credits

St. Paul & the Broken Bones   Primary Artist
Oleg Kondratenko   Conductor
Fame's Studio Orchestra   Orchestra

Technical Credits

Sam Shoup   String Arrangements,Arranger
Al Gamble   Composer,Group Member
Matt Ross-Spang   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Allen Branstetter   Group Member
St. Paul & the Broken Bones   Composer
Aaron Gresham   Art Direction
Paul Janeway   Composer,Group Member
Kevin Leon   Composer,Group Member
Amari Ansari   Group Member
Teodora Arsovska   Engineer
Browan Lollar   Composer,Group Member
Chad Fisher   Group Member
Wesley Graham   Engineer
Laurent Koppitz   Engineer
Jesse Phillips   Composer,Group Member
Ilija Grkovski   Stage Manager
Paige Sara   Band Photo
Katie Erickson   Photography
Pete Lyman   Mastering,Mastering Engineer