Royal Family

In the category of everything new is old again, we have the sophomore platter from the Alan Evans Trio. As the cover art makes clear, Merkaba is a smoky, groovy blast of spacey funk; a cosmic soundtrack on an interstellar flight. The funky vibe will take you back in time to a dark, hazy, velvet-adorned lounge of a swank club circa the ‘70s, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the Soulive drummer’s repertoire. “Cosmic Hazel Dust” rides above heavy, dense swirling Hammond organ (Beau Sasser) and roaring guitar. Pedal effects-laden guitar
(Danny Mayer) mingles with crackling, silvery percussion on “Have You Seen Him.” And the closing R&B ballad “Givin’ To You,” the only cut with vocals, oozes sensuality and soft-core lovemaking.