‘No One Will Ever Know’
Self-released
anonymouswillpower.bandcamp.com
I don’t have enough fingers to count how many bands have said to me over the years, “Oh, we play everything.” No, they don’t. Rochester’s Anonymous Willpower does, however.
On its new EP, “No One Will Ever Know” — set for release on April 24 — the band is all over the map without being the least bit scattered. There are certain elements in its style that are constant, like pianist-organist Don Anonymous’s roots in the music of blues pianist Professor Longhair, and singer Suzi Willpower’s indebtedness to the classic R&B of Aretha Franklin (if Franklin had never set foot in church).
The compositions are fresh and dynamic. Anonymous comes from outta nowhere on “Love Is Crazy.” The cut “Angel in Control” kicks off with a good, bad, and ugly nod to famous film composer Ennio Morricone and boy, that’s cool. And when Anonymous Willpower digs into a cover, The Sweet’s “The Ballroom Blitz,” they turn it upside down and inside out during the verses but leave the refrain intact. Whoa, mama.
At times, the music can be intensely exuberant, but Anonymous Willpower saddles up and rides capably and cocksure. There isn’t anything radically new here — just a hardworking band that has hit its stride and continues to hit it. This is what soul sounds like in the hands of a serious rock ‘n’ roll outfit. Solid.
Frank De Blase is CITY's music writer. He can be reached at [email protected].
