A music teacher now out of service and gifted with a scratchy vocal timbre and the right dose of gospel and soul, Brother Wallace fearlessly dives into the cauldron of the soul revival with a record recorded in Peter Gabriel's legendary Real World studios. “Electric Love” is an interesting debut and not without some captivating intuitions, but it is also the “I would like but I can't” show. The singer and pianist from West Point – Georgia firmly digs his hands into tradition, putting Little Richard and Sam Cooke on the same level, but in an attempt to make the proposed material authentic and visceral he leaves out some elements useful for enhancing their vocal qualities.
Strengthened by an enthralling single like “Who's That?”, the album immediately shows its first cracks. The horn section is weak and the bold arrangement, not without some clever dissonance, does not fully do justice to the author's potential: it is enough to listen to the version live of the song to fully grasp the strengths and weaknesses of the final performance of the album. Brother Wallace's heartfelt and genuine soul revival works in alternating phases. The Stax/Motown-style panache of “You're The Man” is rather thin, the pop-gospel shtick in the vein of Otis Redding holds up riff stolen from the classics and an ordinary soul choir. On the opposite side, the urgent and visceral “Let's Get Together” enhances Wallace's interpretative qualities and the political and social message also arrives clear and clear, even if the poignant slow-soul of “No God In This Town” is the title of the most intense performance of the lot.
However, there are many reasons to appreciate Brother Wallace's debut: songs like the title track and “Who Do You Love?” they are lively and captivating but, despite the notable vocal qualities, the prevailing sensation remains that of a record with a fake sound, which in an attempt to stay out of technological temptations does not offer sound in terms of writing and performances: listen to the not very successful gospel prayer of “Any Day Now”. And it is symptomatic that the song is dirtier and rougher than the original tracklistthe harrowing blues of “Me And My Running Shoes,” was ultimately left off the album. Brother Wallace is a talented singer, but the background, the work of the shrewd producer and co-writer Dan Taylor of the band The Heavy (on whose records Wallace often appears on backing vocals) is a little bloodless to go beyond a well-deserved sufficiency.
01/06/2026
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
