Modern Vintage

It’s hard enough trying to be discovered as an emerging band in today’s tough economic climate, let alone stacking the odds against yourself. That’s just what Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds – a ninepiece Brooklyn, N.Y.-based, retro, Memphis funk & soul band – are attempting to do. Pound of Dirt, the band’s sophomore release, scratches the surface. Lead singer/songwriter Arleigh Kincheloe’s raspy, yet sultry howl is awash in a flood of horns, harmonica and tight rhythm and blues on opener “Make It Rain” and the hard rocking anthem of excesses, “Too Much.” The tempo slows on the sensual vamp “Another Ride,” while the harmonica and horns swing and flare on “No Rest.” And Tedeschi-Trucks Band fans should take note of the old school soul of “Millie Mae.”