Good ThingsStones Throw ****

There have been a slew of decent throwback soul albums in the past year or so (see Raphael Saadiq, Mayer Hawthorne, etc), and this new album from Californian soulman Nathaniel "Aloe Blacc" Hawkins makes that grade with ease. On Good Things, there's real bite behind the beats, the tracks reflecting Hawkins's anger and bewilderment as the recession snatched away his day job at Ernst Young. Both his voice (which will remind many of Bill Withers) and the sympathetic, full-bodied arrangements are perfectly in synch with the classic soul path Hawkins has taken. I Need a Dollarhas a brassy kick to it; a tribute to his mother, Momma Hold My Hand, ascends on a lovely sweep of strings; and his version of Velvet Underground's Femme Fataleis stacked with swanky pathos. A smartly crafted and lovingly realised record for those who still dig real soul music.

See aloeblacc.com

Download tracks: I Need a Dollar, Femme Fatale, Hey Brother