Finding My Religion #8: 10 New Songs Curated by the Priest - "Mr. Soul"

Welcome to our next album mix, decidedly soul-leaning this time. It also features the triumphant return of the "Intro/Outro" segments that were so popular when we were doing full mixtapes. So, on every tape from now on you get 12 tracks for the price of 10!

SIDE A

Intro: "Eat Your Greens" | Parlor Greens

Some sounds are hard-wired into my brain and the immersive swirl of the Hammond B-3 organ is embedded deeply in my cranium (right below the lyrics to REO Speedwagon's "In Your Letter"). I just can't get enough of it. So it's good for me that Parlor Greens are back with their second LP, Emeralds, a title that stays true to the band's ongoing green-themed branding (first album: In Green We Dream). The band's instrumental approach is clearly indebted to the kings of all organ-based instrumental soul groups, Booker T. & the MGs, and it's safe to infer that “Eat Your Greens” could be the band’s own “Green Onions,” a musical calling card that concisely demonstrates the band's operating model. That operating model isn't based on paying tribute to the MGs, however. The Greens build off that sound, then do their own thing in their own style. Tim Carmen (ex GA-20) is the anchor on the B-3 and he can wail on that thing. Adam Scone adds a front-and-center beat to the songs that would make Al Jackson Jr. proud. The ringer is the great Jimmy James on guitar, a veteran of the organ-trio dynamic—he played a key role in the rise of the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio for their first three records. James is a major revelation here, not content to sit back waiting for his moments like Steve Cropper; instead, he takes a “move over and let Jimmy take over” approach at times. It's thrilling. He was a force with DLO3, but he’s a monster here. As a result, Parlor Greens are more 'in your face' than Booker T. and the boys and that’s not a bad thing. If you dig this, the Village Green B-3 Preservation Society meets on the third Thursday of every month. We'll see you at the next meeting!

01 "There Must Be Something" | Joey Quiñones

There’s an intangible magic to the East L.A. music scene. It’s got its own flavor, its own sound, its own heartbeat, its own history. You never quite know what you’re gonna get from a band out of East L.A. Could be a traditional wedding band, could be a Latin soul affair, could be a Chicano rock band (or, in the case of Los Lobos, all of those at once). There are so many influences at play there and thanks to its proximity to L.A. proper, outside forces slip in as well (rock, punk, rockabilly, etc.) That explains the dynamic present on Joey Quiñones's new record, Inna Soul Steady Situation. The record sounds like a flip through a box of old 45s at legendary East L.A. record store, Sounds of Music, right there on Whittier Blvd. Every song provides something a bit different. “Bolsita” is a lively instrumental like you might hear drifting out of a backyard pig roast, “Guess That’s Just Loving You” could be heard at a local wedding hall, the title-track's light reggae groove provides yet another unexpected diversion, and “There Must Be Something,” featuring Joey’s smooth, crooning vox, sounds like a timeless soul ballad from the mid-60s, all dusted off and cleaned and ready for its moment in the limelight. The whole record—vinyl mandatory—is a divine little neighborhood jukebox come to life. One where they haven't changed out the records for decades.

02 "Mr. Train Conductor" | Jalen Ngonda

After two straight releases from Colemine Records, we move on to another revered soul music label, Daptone Recording Company, located in Brooklyn, NY. If it's on Daptone, chances are it'll pass our tight soul music standards here at Pickled Priest. Their quality control is impeccable and Jalen Ngonda is yet another major find by the label. The title-track, "Doctrine of Love," may be his finest moment to date—a love manifesto, if you'll allow—but "Mr. Train Conductor" is my secret favorite (not anymore). In general, I love “Mr.” songs: “Mr. Postman,” “Mr. Sandman,” “Mr. Big Stuff,” “Mr. Lonely,” you get the idea. The older and more innocent sounding they are, the better. There was a baseline respect we used to have back in the day that we don't have now, where in the absence of a specific name, we'd at least acknowledge another person with the dignity they deserve by adding an honorific to their chosen profession. This pleasing sense of propriety is all over Jalen Ngonda’s “Mr. Train Conductor,” which brilliantly invokes an older, more innocent time, when our youth had some built-in reverence for authority. You catch more bees with honey, of course, and if you want to get back to your baby post-haste then maybe the train conductor will sympathize with your plight and crank up the speed on your behalf. As long as you're nice about it. It certainly helps to have an amazing voice when doing so, of course, and Jalen Ngonda has one—just smooth enough, just rough enough to sound of a time and not just influenced by it. Put on this record and let him do his thing. He’s got raw talent to burn. Mr. Music Blogger tells you so.  

03 "Electric Spanish" | Tiwayo

So, we’re getting our soul singers from Paris now, are we? I don’t care where they come from when it sounds like Tiwayo’s new record, which carries the self-aware title, Outsider. Yes, he’s an outsider, he knows that, but he had enough natural talent to initially get signed by Blue Note for a couple records, which ain’t nothing. His sound even attracted Adrian Quesada of the Black Pumas, who brought him to Austin to record his new record. The pairing has resulted in a promising new career direction for the Parisian. At one point on the record he sings, “Mama gave me the will to sing like in Memphis, Tennessee,” and she’s a wise woman. When your son has a set of pipes like his, the French café circuit is clearly not his calling. “Electric Spanish” has a swaggering, streetwise groove to it and I love how it’s set back in the pocket—assured, but smooth—just the way I like them. Welcome to America, Tiwayo, you’ve found at least one kindred spirit here.

04 "Who's That?" | Brother Wallace

The story has been repeated countless times over the years: the soul singer who cut his/her teeth singing gospel in Southern Baptist church—a proven training ground like no other. When you’re singing with a higher purpose in mind, you tend to lay your soul out there for all to see. Only God can judge me! Of course, sooner or later, the bills need to get paid and the secular world, being more lucrative, becomes more and more attractive. What you do then is up to you. Christopher Wallace has managed to find the sweet spot right in the middle. Music teacher and staunch believer by day, soul singer by night. And boy does he have the ability to change gears when he wants to. Soul shouter one moment, soul crooner the next. The guy can do it all. His future is bright based on the promise of his new aptly-titled record, Electric Love. “Who’s That?” sounds like a lost Johnnie Taylor A-side from the singer's days at Stax in the early 70s. And that is not a compliment I toss around casually.

05 "Home is Where the Hatred Is" | Brian Jackson ft. Lisa Fischer

Last year, I put Brian Jackson’s cover of Gil Scott-Heron’s classic “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” (featuring Black Thought of the Roots) high atop my Best Cover Songs of 2025 list. Perhaps it shouldn’t have qualified since Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson created the song together back in 1971. Can you cover yourself? Indeed you can, it turns out. Well, Jackson is back with a full triple album of amazing, reinvented takes (in most cases) on some of his and Scott-Heron’s finest work. In fact, we only have to travel three songs down the track list of Gil's debut album, Pieces of a Man, to get from "Revolution" to “Home is Where the Hatred Is,” a prescient and powerful indictment of American society if there ever was one. Good thing it doesn’t apply now! What’s that? The title of Jackson’s album is Now More Than Ever ? Ugh—you guessed it—once again, the more things change the more they stay the same. So what better time than now to revisit some of the most visionary, culturally important music of all-time? This is powerful, timeless stuff albeit with a fresh look and feel. I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout-out to Brian's guest vocalist on this track, Lisa Fischer. She turns in an absolutely killer performance, the true star of this show.

SIDE B

06 "Oo Long" | The Tomeka Reid Quartet

Jazz records often list the band members right on the album cover so people can see who is playing on what. After all, Jazz musicians do get around a lot, playing anywhere with anyone on any given night, so it's helpful to know the players involved in advance. For that reason we'll list the musicians on the Tomeka Reid Quartet's new album dance! skip! hop!: Tomeka Reid on cello, the phenomenal Mary Halvorson on guitar, Tomas Fujiwara on drums, and Jason Roebke on bass. On "Oo Long" this crew takes a relatively casual afternoon of improv jazz and slowly brings it to a frantic boil halfway through. Tomeka and Jason ably hold down the low end, but it's Tomas who insistently propels the whole track forward on his kit. And Mary? As usual, she's a dynamo whenever she appears. She sounds positively fierce on this track, borderline losing her mind. This may sound like a stretch, but "Oo Long" reminds me of a time I was heating up some soup. I put the burner on, then someone came to the door and I was chatting mindlessly for a bit, only to return to a pot boiling out of control, popping off geysers of chaotic soupy mayhem every which way. I immediately switched off the burner, which settling things down, and then I cleaned the place up, laughing at the extent of the murder scene.

07 "Fala" | Fatoumata Diawara

Everything Mali's Fatoumata Diawara touches has been gold so far and her new record, Massa, is no exception. The word "massa" basically means "the strength to endure" which might be why the music on the album feels somewhat like a musical support system. "Fala" is the perfect example. Its repeated "Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry'" chorus calming tone embodies the feeling of being there for someone when times get hard. It's an absolutely gorgeous track with a perfect vocal. It will soothe you in hard times, but it will reset your nervous system always.

08 "Hollyweird" | Aja Monet

If you’re building a poetry slam fantasy team, I’d draft Aja Monet in the early rounds if I were you. She’s got a gift for stringing together images in a way that brings each stand-alone phrase into a cohesive whole by the end. And she tells it like it is, too. From California wildfires to ICE raids to Israel/Palestine to political corruption and beyond, nothing is sacred or out of scope. Her new record, the color of rain, is an immersive, powerful experience, impossible to turn away from, hard to forget. When she ends "Hollyweird" with the line “When people show you who they are….believe them' the moment hits like a freight train. It's the final mic drop. She had better be the final performer of the night. Nobody else can follow her.

09 "Sunlight to My Soul" | Angelique Kidjo

One of the world’s greatest singers, West Africa's Angélique Kidjo returns in 2026 with a fantastic new record, Hope!!, that is unsurprisingly teeming with life, love, compassion, and, of course, hope. It's who she is, it's what she does. "Sunlight to My Soul," featuring backing from the Soweto Gospel Choir, is one of those songs every human needs, particularly right now. If this song doesn’t lift up your heart, I don't know what advice to give you next.

10 "Your Name Will Be Safe in My Mouth"/"Waiting There" | Rob Jungklas

Forty years ago on his song "Memphis Thing," Rob Jungklas told us that certain places imbue in us unique traits. Memphis, he sang, gives you soul. I have also found this to be true over the years. It's no shock then that the long-time Memphian makes his own distinct version of soul music. It may not be soul in the traditional sense, especially compared to some other artists on this mix, but one listen to his new record, Get Up Ghost, proves my point. His music comes from deep down in the soul where ghosts from the past often bide their time while waiting to be summoned by a thought, an emotion, a person, a memory. This time, his haunting, spiritual brand of soul music seems more personal than ever before. The whole thing is a borderline religious experience and, coming from someone with no use for formalized religion, that's saying something. There isn't a moment on the record to skip, but my breath was taken away by the one-two gut punch of "Your Name Will Be Safe in My Mouth" and "Waiting There," perhaps because Father's Day just passed a couple weeks ago. The first is about a child, the second about a father; both are stunning and of a piece, which is presumably why Rob included the former on this album even though he had previously released the song a few years ago on 2023's Love Songs for the Dying of the Light. If you're not moved by this pair of songs, perhaps you're soulless.

Outro:"I Can Outdance You" | Frank "The Wild Jalapeño" Rodarte

He's played for Sinatra and Elvis, gigged in a Vegas strip club for 366 weeks straight, been blessed by a Pope, hung out with the Harlem Globetrotters, and dealt "left-handed" cigarettes to Redd Foxx. One thing he hadn't done until now? Release his debut album. With The Return of the Wild Jalapeno, 83-year-old saxophonist/bandleader Frank Rodarte has finally checked that elusive item off his bucket list. He may not be as crazy or spicy as he once was when he formed his first band in San Antonio in the late-50s, but his love of music (and God) is readily apparent throughout this endearing record. I found myself amused and touched in equal doses. So, to celebrate his new record, let's end our time together with the playfully boastful "I Can Outdance You"—and don't you doubt for a moment that he can't back up that claim.

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Stay tuned for the return of the Wild Pickle, coming very soon with yet another new post.

Cheers,

The Priest