St. Paul and the Broken Bones

Soulful Southern rock group St. Paul & The Broken Bones perform tracks from their new album The Alien Coast at Celtic Connections.

A fever dream in sonic form, St. Paul & The Broken Bones’ new album The Alien Coast represents the most adventurous and original output yet from an ever-evolving musical powerhouse.

In a profound shift for the Alabama-bred eight-piece—Paul Janeway (vocals), Jesse Phillips (bass), Browan Lollar (guitar), Kevin Leon (drums), Al Gamble (keyboards), Allen Branstetter (trumpet), Chad Fisher (trombone), and Amari Ansari (saxophone)—the band’s fourth full-length strays far from the time-bending soul of past work like their 2014 debut, arriving at a convergence of rock & roll and R&B, psychedelia and funk.

At turns explosive, elegant, and unhinged, that sound makes for a majestic backdrop to St. Paul & The Broken Bones’ visceral exploration of the strangest dimensions of the human psyche.