Southern Avenue returned on Friday with the band’s third studio LP, Be The Love You Want. The Memphis cross-genre outfit’s latest studio effort further broadens the group’s exceedingly expansive influences.
From the start, Southern Avenue has existed as a melting pot of influences. The Tennessee ensemble is headed by powerhouse vocalist Tierinii Jackson and Israeli-born guitarist Ori Naftaly who both share songwriting credits on the group’s latest batch of music. Along to add some additional cross-cultural influence is Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) who co-produced the album with Naftaly.
With the meats of so many different musical stews coming together to make a heady broth, Be The Love You Want is marinated in the flavors of blues, R&B, gospel, and even some jam band. While so many divergent influences could possibly lead to a mismatched record that is unsure of its direction, the result instead is an exciting audible journey across genres and across the world. Going from the roaring opening statement of the album’s title track to the wah-soaked, groove-funk of the proceeding”Control”, Be The Love You Want shows that anything is possible for Southern Avenue.
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“I can’t believe we’re FINALLY sharing this music with the universe!” Tierinii Jackson said in a statement. “We put our heart and soul into this. These songs were meant to uplift and get you grooving in the right direction! It’s an honor to be able to finally gift it to all of our fans!”
Stream Southern Avenue’s new album, Be The Love You Want, below or on your preferred streaming platform. Look for the band this summer/fall on its headlining tour of the U.S. Scroll down for a full list of tour dates and visit Southern Avenue’s website for tickets.
Southern Avenue – Be The Love You Want