(Soul, Jazz, Male Vocal) Roseaux (Aloe Blacc, Emile Omar, Alex Finkin, Clement Petit) - Roseaux - 2012, WEB, FLAC (tracks), lossless

Seemingly out of nowhere, Aloe Blacc has emerged with an entirely new album for our listening pleasure. It isn’t quite a solo album, though, as it is actually brought about by French three-piece outfit Roseaux (producer Emile Omar, cellist Clément Petit and multi-instrumentalist Alex Finkin). In fact, the artist listing is Roseaux featuring Aloe Blacc, which makes us believe there might have been contractual obstacles that made getting this collaboration done a bit more difficult. Plus, this music was actually recorded before Aloe’s hit “I Need A Dollar” hit the air waves. But it happened, and we are really excited about it, because this project isn’t sounding quite like anything Blacc has dropped in the past.
What does it sound like? Well, expect a lot of jazz and European influence. While you won’t find many catchy tunes on here, a lot of the new album is perfect for kicking back in a cafe or local coffee shop. You would be even better off opening up a book by F. Scott Fitzgerald or any other author prevalent during the Jazz Age while giving this record a spin. You won’t regret it.