A solid offering from a local funk outfit, The Hard Way is a title that might serve as a daily reminder to the members of Gravy. There is a dollop of soulfulness here, quality horn lines and decent hooks. Steve Kelly’s vocals could use some more body to keep pace with the organ and brass, but overall he has the right idea. The addition of CR Gruver and Doc Sharp on keys is a smart move and deepens the cuts.

As with many a Meters-influenced young funk band, proficiency needs to be recognized as step one. Art and company spent years backing up vocalists, flowing through Toussaint’s various aqueducts, paying service to the songs. Gravy certainly has step one under control, but looks more to the Chili Peppers or Eddie Vedder for step two. Nothing wrong with that, but if you’ve got all those great horns and not a trace of punk vocabulary, you better get right with Lee Dorsey or even Labelle.

Johnny Vidacovich’s appearances on two tracks suggest possible paths for the band. The well-percussed but forced Caribbean vibe on “Time to Play” might be avoided next time, but the band pulls off a nice Funkadelic breakdown towards the song’s end. Later, Johnny V’s snarling vocals trip things out a bit on “Dr. Watson,” and trippy might be the right direction for Gravy.

While jammy pitfalls threaten any mind-expanding evolution, this band offers signs that there is indeed a sound out there for them.