GABRIELS Vinyl & CDs

Review: A new four-track EP reflecting ever-expanded horizons for the band, 'Bloodline' is the latest output from loose-limbed, soul-stirring funk band Gabriels. Quickly finding fans in the likes of Elton John, Celeste, Paul Weller, Benji B, and Gilles Peterson, Gabriels should soon find plenty more on a record that could soundtrack a David Lynch epic; such is its drama, its suspenseful, late-night orchestral ruminations. Capped by frontman Lusk's voice - a weapon that swoops through the octaves breathlessly - Gabriels have that rare ability to make you re-evaluate music, and what it can do, in a heartbeat. Whilst Lusk provides the wow factor with that ridiculous larynx, Gabriels are very much a close-knit trio. Producer, keyboardist (and full-time video director) Ryan Hope hails from Sunderland but calls LA home. Fellow producer-composer and violinist Ari Balouzian, a man with endless musical projects on the go at any one time, gives Gabriels' songs a real 'feel' to them. Sultry, soulful mood music certainly isn't the band's modus operandi, but this new experimental EP should paint an altogether more rounded idea of where Gabriels are at today.