The New Mastersounds open their 17th studio album, like the others before it, with a tune mined from their oldest and deepest influence, The Meters. It’s a tradition the band has honored even as it has evolved into a musically complex entity with soulful vocals and a sense of purpose.

The group puts that sense to the test by convening at a brand-new studio in Iceland to essentially craft an album from the disarray of the pandemic’s forced separation. While guitarist and bandleader Eddie Roberts oversaw the production, the album shows the other three instrumentalists in the band to be at a creative peak. 

Keyboardist Joe Tatton is all over the album with stellar fills and solos. The drummer and bass player, Simon Allen and Peter Shand respectively, are locked in so tight they might as well still be locked down. Vocalist Lamar Williams, a member of the ensemble since his work on the 2019 album Shake It, is as soulful as ever especially on “Let Me in From the Cold” and “Meet You in the Sunshine.”

“Let Me in From the Cold” sounds like a lost R&B classic destined to get people grooving. The pitter-pat drumbeat is infectious, while the organ just percolates like a boiling tea kettle.

But it’s “Meet You in the Sunshine” that feels like a modern statement of intent. With lyrics by Mississippi-based songwriter Shelby Kemp, the cut could be heart-on-a-sleeve twee in lesser hands. With this band and this vocalist, you deeply feel the optimism amid the bleakness of the world. 

“Hey, It’s Alright” is a ten-minute groove with Roberts providing a serious earworm guitar lick and a trippy, repeating vibra slap from special guest Sasha Crooks. This song, along with a couple of the instrumentals, will have you marveling at a band that has mastered the understated. With New Mastersounds, less is always more.