NEW YORK DUO THE LONDON SOULS PUSH THROUGH THE PAIN WITH HERE COME THE GIRLS

New York rockers the London Souls have been sitting on their sophomore record, Here Come the Girls, since early 2013. Not because the duo were fidgety or stuck in the studio wasting away energy (à la another Chinese Democracy) — rather, the band's singer/guitarist, Tash Neal, had to heal and recuperate after surviving a nasty hit-and-run car accident on Broadway in Manhattan back in 2012.

Calling in while backstage at the appropriately located Roundhouse (the classic London venue that was formerly a railway depot), Neal recounts those first moments after he awoke from a coma in the hospital following the accident and saw his nylon-stringed guitar sitting in the corner.

"I sort of motioned for it," he recalls. "It was kind of instinctual and gave me really good comfort at that moment. I only played two or three chords, but it felt right and I kind of knew I was going to be all right. It happened to be in the room, and I was like, 'I know that thing.' I didn't know much at the time, but I knew that thing."

Fully recovered and eager to share, London Souls return to their city the night of the record's release for a headlined show at the Bowery Ballroom on April 7.

"A lot can happen in two to three years, and we're so proud of the record and happy to set it off that way," says Neal. "It's kind of perfect and I personally feel very fortunate."

Here Come the Girls is a callback to early rock 'n' roll records where several styles are flexed and explored. Album opener "When I'm With You" is a Sixties rock/pop anthem that could rival anything found in the Hollies' catalog, while "Crimson Revival" recalls cool Seventies FM radio gold in the vein of power-pop kings Big Star. And no rock record is complete without a Zeppelin III–esque acoustic beauty, as heard in "Isabel."

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Album Review: The London Souls, ‘Here Come the Girls’ Read More: The London Souls, 'Here Come the Girls' - Album Review

New York City-based rockers the London Souls have just released their second album — and it’s a winner.

Here Come the Girls is stocked from top to bottom with soulful, melodic, funky and dirty rock and roll … you know, the good stuff!

So who are the London Souls? Glad you asked. They are singer/guitarist Tash Neal, drummer Chris St. Hilaire and bassist Stu Mahan. They released their (now out-of-print) debut in 2011 and have kept a relatively low profile since then, due in no small part to a serious hit and run accident suffered by Neal.

The London Souls’ sound mixes up traditional influences of hard driving rock, soul and pop. Instead of being a mere retread of tried and true angles, though, Here Come the Girls sounds surprisingly fresh thanks to the stripped down production that lives and breathes throughout the record.

For every Zeppelin-inspired guitar riff, there’s a nod to the Beatles‘ melodic sense, and for every soul-drenched groove, there’s a Byrds-ian harmony that creeps in. In some ways, what they are pulling together here is not miles apart from what Lenny Kravitz was doing some 20-plus years ago. They take their visions of the past and replant them in a current environment, though the songs never sound forced or overtly “retro.”

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The London Souls bounce back from tragedy with 'When I'm With You'

In April the classic rock revival duo The London Souls—who are actually from New York, but whatever—will release a new album called Here Come the Girls, which is an extra big deal when you consider that shortly after it was recorded, front man Tash Neal was the victim of a hit-and-run car accident that almost killed him.

Two years, one medically induced coma, and a whole lot of hard work later, the band is ready to bounce back. The quality of the material they recorded before Neal’s hospitalization should help. “When I’m With You” finds new life in some well-worn influences, mashing together Byrds-y folk-rock with Badfinger’s more bubblegum soul moments, with a little bit of The Beatles’ Revolver sprinkled on top.

Stream the track at EW.com

New Single 'When I'm With You' Out Now

The London Souls bounce back from tragedy with 'When I'm With You'

Read Article on Entertainment Weekly

In April the classic rock revival duo The London Souls—who are actually from New York, but whatever—will release a new album called Here Come the Girls, which is an extra big deal when you consider that shortly after it was recorded, front man Tash Neal was the victim of a hit-and-run car accident that almost killed him.

Two years, one medically induced coma, and a whole lot of hard work later, the band is ready to bounce back. The quality of the material they recorded before Neal’s hospitalization should help. “When I’m With You” finds new life in some well-worn influences, mashing together Byrds-y folk-rock with Badfinger’s more bubblegum soul moments, with a little bit of The Beatles’ Revolver sprinkled on top.

Spring Tour with Sons of Bill

The London Soul have announced the dates for a co-headlining tour with Virginia-based American outfit Sons of Bill. The Sons & Souls Spring Tour will get started in Baltimore on March 12 before wrapping with a show in Denver on March 28. The outing will take the two bands across much of the country, and will include three stops at Austin’s famed SXSW festival.

Sons & Souls Tour Dates

March 12 Baltimore, MD—8×10
March 13 Pittsburgh, PA—Thunderbird
March 14 Roanoke, VA—Martins
March 15 Nashville, TN—3rd & Lindsley
March 17 Baton Rouge, LA—Varsity
March 18-19 Austin, TX—SXSW Festival
March 20 Tyler, TX—Stanleys
March 21 Fort Worth, TX—Magnolia Motor Lounge
March 22 Tulsa, OK—Fassler Hall
March 24 Little Rock, AR—Stickyz
March 25 St. Louis, MO—Duck Room
March 26 Lawrence, KS—Bottleneck
March 27 Lincoln, NE—Bourbon Theatre
March 28 Denver, CO—Bluebird

Jam Cruise 13

Glide’s Andrew Bruss is providing day to day coverage of Jam Cruise 13 as it makes its way around sea over the course of five days.  Here are the highlights and photos from day 2 aboard the ship.

Vote Nikki Glaspie for Captain: This Berklee College of Music-trained drummer has kept the beat for artists ranging from Ivan Neville to Beyoncé so it’s no surprise that while playing to the beat of her own drum, she exhibits a passion unlike anything her fans have heard from her to date. Glaspie left Ivan Neville’sDumpstaphunk during the summer of 2014 to commit full time to her primary project, The Nth Power.

Alongside Nigel Hall from Lettuce (keys), the bassist from John Brown’s Body, a 110th generation djembe player and singer/guitarist Nick Cassarino bringing all the pieces together, The Nth Power has been one of the most talked about up and coming acts of 2015 and for damn good reason. Their daytime set on the pool deck has been the best performance of the first two days of JamCruise 13 and almost every single JamCruiser was there to enjoy it. The concert was only their 100th as a group together so the sky is t he limit for their 200th gig.

Following the performance, Glaspie hightailed it to the Jam Room seven floors below the pool deck, back in the ass of the boat, to practice for the Super jam she’d be hosting later that night. As of 3:44am EST she’s holding it down with her core crew from Nth power with some help coming from members of The London Souls, The Motet, Lettuce, Snarky Puppy, and Ivan Neville. It’s too early to say, but we might be talking about the JC13 MVP in Nikki Glaspie.  The Nth Power still has another performance scheduled before this trip ends.

Mind, Body and Soul Support: On the second day of the trip, JamCruisers had multiple opportunity to grow musically in ways that weren’t just for entertainment.

The Bob Moog Foundation, which honors the memory of the late godfather of synthesizer technology, hosted a workshop on the pool deck early in the afternoon featuring Derek Vincent Smith (Pretty Lights) giving an interactive explanation of how he recreates his tracks live. Smith is slated to host the Jam Room and play a Pretty Lights set with a live band, and he explained that he’ll be sampling and manipulating the performances of the musicians on stage with him on the fly.

In addition to the Pretty Lights seminar, the Moog Foundation hosted a music therapy clinic on a lower deck that really compounded on the value this foundation brought onboard. In addition to providing an array of Moog synths and Theremins for passengers to use, there was also a sound therapy machine being operated by its inventor. Using sonic frequencies, the machine doesn’t just put you in a mental trance but actually vibrates the body and leaves you feeling like you’d had an incredible massage.

The most uplifting sight to date had to be staffers of the MSC Divina rocking out in the rain to The London Souls. The service industry is dehumanizing by design and the cruise industry takes that dehumanization factor up to 11. The folks vacationing on this boat are here because they believe in the power of music to bridge gaps between people and lift humanity up as a whole. So more than any of the performances themselves, seeing the ships crew, on their free time, let go and dive into our journey head first was affirming of the power of music, in addition to shining a light on the commonalities inherent in the human condition as a whole. And that brings us to The London Souls….

The London Souls vs. The Elements: Soaking rain makes rock concerts roll that much harder and if you need more evidence to support this established fact, look no further than The London Souls midnight set out on the pool deck.

There couldn’t have been more than a few dozen people dancing in front of the stage and maybe a hundred or so more watched the set from farther back under cover. While they didn’t draw the largest crowd, the guitar/drum/bass trio from New York City provided the most heavy-hitting, boot stomping rock of the weekend. Rose Hill Drive came to mind during their set, although this crew’s roots are less Black Sabbath metal and more Band of Gypsies power blues.