St. Paul & The Broken Bones Half the City

St. Paul & The Broken Bones' Debut Album Half the City on LP.

Half the City is the compelling full-length Single Lock/Thirty Tigers debut from the Birmingham, Alabama-based sextet, St. Paul And The Broken Bones who who have already created a maelstrom of interest with their roof-raising live shows and self-released four-song 2012 EP. Produced by Ben Tanner of Alabama Shakes, and recorded and mixed in the storied R&B mecca of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the album harkens back to the region’s classic soul roots while extending the form with electrifying potency. 

Half the City oozes with key elements of Memphis soul, Muscle Shoals R&B and the Motown experience, which lay solid ground for frontman Paul Janeway’s (aka St. Paul) expressive vocals. The vital, direct, and emotionally affecting 12-song set presents the same engaged, high-voltage, in-the-pocket sound that the band produce at their live dates, where Janeway’s extroverted performing style enraptures his audiences. Featuring special guest appearances by Al Gamble (piano/organ/Wurlitzer), Daniel Stoddard (pedal steel) and Tanner (piano/organ/background vocals). 

“Within ten seconds of hearing Paul Janeway’s voice - secondhand on a friend’s cell phone - I was in. The first five was spent in disbelief. I can count on one hand the times that’s happened. I admit it took a bit to hear past him. The beautiful thing was that the band was and is every bit as good. The same swagger, conviction, and - dare I say - soul. That’s saying something. What sealed the deal was the songwriting, the arrangements, the dynamics - all the things that comes with having been a unit for many more years than they have. And then I experienced them live.” - John Paul White, The Civil Wars