An interesting mix of gypsy inspired sounds are blended in with soul and a dab of rock in Lovesucker’s self-titled EP, released in October 2014. The North Carolina duo— Crystal Cosby (vocals) and Zoltan Von Bury (instruments)—manage to bring these distinct styles together to almost create a unique, fourth genre they refer to as “gypsy soul”. They describe their music as “a state of mind—freedom, movement, fire, and heart, even if it’s fragmented… to move through a song and sound with fluidity and transparency, embracing those things that we speak of – love, spark and hope, dazzled with trickery and fury.”

Lovesucker begins with “Mississippi”, an upbeat funky song telling the story of a dead slave haunting its master, creating quite a contrast between the lyrics and the melody. This seems to denote a very tongue in cheek, unique way of approaching even the most terrible of realities in our world. After all, not many (if any!) expect a high energy, funk-laden song to denounced the evils of slavery. The following “Show Me” is built on a groovy, slow, electric guitar led beat Cosby’s voice melds and plays with.

While the groove is different, the more upbeat and very soulful “Sayanara Messiahnyde” is also built similarly on an electric guitar led melody. Cosby’s attitude comes through the most in this track, and one can easily imagine her particularly captivating and flirting with the audience while performing this song. Cosby’s softness in “Don’t You Leave Me Now” is quite a contrast with all the other songs in the EP; her style is mostly aggressive in this EP, but it seems that her genre might be broader. The closing track “Guns and Gasoline” has the strongest rock feel; one can feel Von Bury’s rock background the most in this song. Cosby’s vocals, unsurprisingly, lend well to a song with a strong rock edge.

Crosby’s strong, edgy, and aggressive vocals with Von Bury’s rock imbibed guitar playing have created an album with an aggressive edge in the same style of Alanis Morrissette’s Jagged Little Pill, albeit with a gypsy inspired twist. Take a listen to the EP on Bandcamp. More information is available on the band’s website.

Pictures provided by Independent Music Promotions.  First published on Blogcritics.