Soul Album Review: Days Ahead's "Turning Point"

By Sean
Editor-in-Chief, Neo Soul Today

Typically, whenver I'm leisurely listening to Liquid Soul Radio via live365.com, I'm doing other things simultaneously. Every so often, I hear a good, new soul song, switch to the Live 365 music player window, and note the name of the artist and song. For years, this has been my primary method of ad hoc underground soul artist discovery.

Over a year ago, I heard an incredible, upbeat, jazzy song, led by gracefully strong female vocals and backed by a live band. I immediately stopped what I was doing and checked the name of the artist/group and song. The group's name was Days Ahead and the song title was "You Move Me." I proceeded with the process I normally follow whenever I find a lead. First, I went to my reliable source, dustygroove.com, to see if they had it. No luck. Next, I checked my secondary source, iTunes. No luck. Finally, I checked my third source, cdbaby.com. No luck. "Oh well," I said to myself. Liquid Soul did it again: hit me with a fresh new artist so far underground that I couldn't find them anywhere. Not even a Google search yielded anything.

About two months ago, I heard "You Move Me" again when listening to Liquid Soul Radio and did another Google search. This time, (to my surprise and after nearly a year) via another site, I arrived at the Days Ahead website. I was happy to discover that their debut album, Turning Point (2005, Nightingale60 Publishing (BMI), Stephen Wright (BMI)), is now available. It was at their website that I listened to extended-length track samples to confirm that it was worth a buy. I must say, this album is very good.

Listen to my favorite tracks from Days Ahead's "Turning Point"

My Favorite 8 Tracks from Turning Point's 10 Tracks
1. You Move Me
2. Love Is Love
4. For the Love
5. Good Ole' Days
6. It's In Your Hands
7. Days Ahead
9. Don't Fall Too Fast
10. Courting a Fantasy

Out of my 8 favorite tracks above, I like You Move Me (track 1), For the Love (track 4), and It's In Your Hands (track 6; especially the chorus) the most.

Formally known as daysahead, the Atlanta-based band has such a unique sound. According to the band's website, they consider themselves an acid jazz band combining elements of jazz, soul, and rock. What caught my ear the most was the unmistakable soul interwoven in their jazzy music. What caught my interest the most was what they refer to as "maturity" and "diversity" in their sound.

A Little About The Band
Days Ahead is a 4-piece band consisting of guitar (electric and acoustic), lead vocals, bass, and drums. Amazingly, there are no keyboards. The band is led by the powerful vocals of Kim Leachman supported by Steve Wright (guitarist and producer), Brandon Gilliard (bassist), and James Barrett (drummer). There are also other contributing backup members for each of the different instruments.

Buy it!
I highly recommend buying "Turning Point" from iTunes or cdbaby.com.

Neo Soul Today Album Rating

4 out of 5 stars