Broad Souls

by Rick AndersonWhen they were coming up and establishing a solid place for themselves in the British dance music establishment, Faze Action (brothers Robin and Simon Lee) helped to create a style of music that would come to be called "nu-disco." Their last full-length album in that vein was 1999's Moving Cities, and they then took some time off from recording original material, focusing instead on remix work for other artists. Broad Souls is not exactly a return to form; instead, it finds the duo headed in a new direction entirely, one based more on traditional soul and gospel sounds. Guest singer Andre Espeut lends his chesty voice to all of the tracks on this album, while the Lee brothers build full but relatively light (and sometimes slightly cheesy) instrumental backing for him. The title track, which is one of the album's highlights, offers lush strings and horn arrangements, while "Walking Time" has something of a dubwise rockers flavor. The music is almost all very appealing, but the lyrics (especially on the slightly embarrassing "We Don't Know How") don't always live up to the quality of the instrumental accompaniment. This is very nice listening overall, but nothing that's going to change your life.