General Description
Artist/Band: Groove Armada 
Album Title: Soundboy Rock
Year: 2007
Steady quality!
How I Got Into This Music
Ahh, Groove Armada.. Lemme think for a bit.. Yep, TV on as background filler while messing about behind my PC (I so really need to get a life, sigh..). Sand Dunes was the track that turned my whole brain upside down: weird and haunting chorus, wacky lyrics and.. Hold on! The title of the track wasn’t Sand Dunes, it was At The River.. So the final thing with that song was the unbelievable use of the trombone, outtasight!
Anyways, first album I listened to was Goodbye Country, Hello Nightclub from waaaay back in 2001.
The album still is an exciting piece of work, with the Dutch favorite My Friend; that one became a big hit after being used as the theme for a beverage ad. After that came the not so great album Love Box and then I kinda lost track of them. But now this new album’s out and I couldn’t resist giving it a try..
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Tracks that got my attention:
Get Down ft. Stush
First track released as a single, didn’t work for me in the beginning but now, it’s one of my favorites! Nasty vocals and the great energizer bunny beat..
The Things That We Could Share ft. Simon Lord
Man, the intro really sucks, I wanted to skip this one, but… Sixty seconds into the track and you get rewarded with an excellent, almost typical Groove Armada, Great Summer Feeling - man-o-man!
Save My Soul
Retro 80’s vibe, great breackdance feeling mixed with soundscape chords in the background.
What’s Your Version ft. Jeb Loy Nichols
Sweet and husky (sounds like a softporn title, but I digress..) vocals by mister Jeb Loy Nichols remind me a bit of Mozez - lovely!
Paris ft. Candi Staton
The monster opening with the strings is brutally beautiful - vocals done by Legendary Diva don’t impress me that much.
Love Sweet Sound ft. Candi Staton
Much better vocals by Legendary Diva! Great groove, great vibe!
The Girls Say ft. Rhymefest
Interesting, a great mix of Missy Elliott and Outkast with a great girl chorus.
Drop That Thing
Nasty beat, love the dance energy - great potential for being annoying, but that really depends on your listening mood.
Song 4 Mutya ft. Mutya Buena
Mutya’s eyes are something that make my knees go all weak and such.. Ex-Sugababe gone solo and doing okay on this track. Eyes or no, it’s mostly the track that gets the job done and it’s surefire production to create a great summer hit!
What’s Your Version (Reprise)
Wow, the laidback guitar.. I like this one better that the sorta original track!! Dreamy, just floating in the clouds, dreamy..
Feel The Same ft. Angie Stone
I hate this track.. It’s like a permanent intro, you keep waiting for the payoff, but you’re just stuck in this intro.
I love this track.. The vocals, miss Angie breaks my heart, as always, loveitloveitloveit!!
Conclusion
I’ve been playing this album for a coupla months now and it doesn’t get boring. The balanced production of different styles and approaches to the tracks is some Serious Stuff. Groove Armada do what they do best: making music they want to make. I didn’t mind Love Box being done in a way that I didn’t enjoy, I accepted the fact that these guys just do things their way.
Maybe the next album will suck lemons, but I will always check out what this band delivers.
Rating: 
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