Editor’s Note: Our new, recurring “Albumism Recommends” series aims to shine a bright light on our favorite albums of the past, with an emphasis on the records that arguably never achieved the widespread or sustained attention they rightfully deserve. As you’ll see below, unlike our longer-form feature articles, we’ve intentionally kept the accompanying commentary to a minimum, so as to allow the great music to speak for itself.
We hope that you enjoy discovering (or rediscovering) these musical treasures and if you like what you hear, we encourage you to spread the good word far and wide so that others can experience these under-the-radar classics as well.
ARTIST: The Brand New Heavies
TITLE: Brother Sister
RELEASED: March 22, 1994
LABEL: Delicious Vinyl
NOTABLE TRACKS: “Dream on Dreamer” | “Forever” | “Mind Trips” | “Spend Some Time”
The golden-voiced N’Dea Davenport’s vocals were noticeably absent from the band’s hip-hop funk masterpiece Heavy Rhyme Experience: Vol. 1 (1992), but she thankfully returned to grace the Heavies’ superb third studio project, Brother Sister. With increased emphasis on the band’s soulful disposition to balance their proven funk pedigree, the album may very well stand as their most consistently gratifying effort to date.
While there is plenty of uptempo fare to enjoy (“Dream on Dreamer,” “Spend Some Time”), the group also delve deeper into more subdued tracks like “Mind Trips,” “Forever,” and the title track, reinforcing their adeptness in varying the pace while retaining their signature uplifting spirit. Delicious Vinyl released a companion remix & B-side compilation entitled Excursions: Remixes & Rare Grooves (1995) in the US the following year, which provided the more devoted BNH fans among us with double the reward.
ALSO RECOMMENDED:
The Brand New Heavies (1991)
Heavy Rhyme Experience: Vol. 1 (1992)
TBNH (2019)
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