CD reviews: Curtis Harding

Having sung gospel as a child with his evangelist mother, moved to back-up vocals for Cee-Lo Green and OutKast and supported Jack White on a recent US tour, Curtis Harding has released a gloriously messy-yet-tight debut album.

Harding might touch on 1960s and '70s soul vibes and party hard on rootsy, booty-shaking numbers such as Next Time and Keep On Shining, yet this is no reverential exercise, the singer revealing his taste for garage rock in The Drive and I Don't Wanna Go Home.

Best of all, he shows no inclination for vocal histrionics, despite his clear ability. Think of it as power, restrained.

•  Soul Power. Curtis Harding. ANTI-Records.

•  Four stars (out of five)

Single download: Keep On Shining
For those who like: The Spinners

- Shane Gilchrist

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