Soul is likely not the first word that comes to mind when you think of Bloomington, Ind. But that’s where saxophonist Durand Jones moved to attend graduate school in 2012, eventually finding his way into Indiana University’s famed Soul Revue. He reluctantly became one of their singers, and his voice fit the genre like a glove—at turns seductive and provocative, always edged with the rasp of experience. Others took notice: Through the Revue, Jones met the rest of the band that soon became the soul-loving Indications. On their self-titled 2016 debut, his anguished, irresistible croon held the quintet’s deeply funky grooves and fluttering rhythms tight.
If Durand Jones & the Indications was the party, their second album and first since signing to Dead Oceans, American Love Call, is the slow dance. Jones and crew trade their infectious bounce for punch-drunk sway, leaning fully into orchestral soul. Gone are Wilson Pickett’s brash horns, replaced instead with the lush strings of, say, Ben E. King, and backing vocals that conjure the dreamy-eyed woe of the Temptations and the Miracles.
American Love Call doesn’t celebrate love so much as interrogate it. Jones bemoans getting the runaround on “Circles.” The song’s baroque strings and gentle flute evoke the 1970s soul family Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose, but Aaron Frazer’s lilting drums point to Otis Redding and Carla Thomas’ “Tramp,” adding a little flash. On “Walk Away,” Jones fights against confessing his true feelings, even though he knows his silence will mean losing his potential paramour, an outcome that’s just as distressing. For “Listen to Your Heart,” the struggle morphs into advice: “Your heart’s tryna tell you what you already know,” he sings, his voice softening to a scouring whisper. “Tell him that you love him.” A solitary French horn sounds a fanfare—or a warning.
Though the band takes Jones’ name, Frazer leads somber tracks like “Too Many Tears” and “Court of Love” with his Smokey Robinson-esque falsetto. His piercing tone mournfully paints scenes of betrayal. During the latter, which flips marriage’s “long walk down the aisle” into a damning courtroom scene, the band’s distended tempo underscores the song’s pulsing wound, much like the Aaron Neville classic “Tell It Like It Is.”
Soul’s pop structure has often helped facilitate incisive social commentary with widespread appeal, from Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” to Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.” The Indications give it a go on opener “Morning in America,” a portrait of different struggles across the country, like the Jacksonville junkie waiting on a “prescription for the pain” or Baltimore nurses heading home after a long shift. Jones’ deflated delivery reflects his exhaustion at the central homophone, or that America’s morning has shifted to mourning. Still, the song lacks teeth, as if drifting through the problems. That dearth of vitality speaks to a larger flaw on American Love Call: Where the Indications’ debut looked to update soul and funk with rock and punk elements, these songs spin their wheels in revivalism, doing little to pull this past into the present.
Not everything here ends in heartbreak. During an ode to platonic love, “What I Know About You,” Jones and Frazer share lead duties. Frazer’s airy vocals contrast Jones’ weighted tone, elevating their nod to friendship from the cheek of bromance to a serious love song. “Sometimes when the load gets heavy/We lock arms and we keep it steady,” they sing. The band closes on a similarly hopeful note, the spacious “True Love.” Jones’ vocals parallel John Legend’s sweet promises, and he makes a pledge to himself: Love is worth waiting for, so be patient. Likewise, the band’s ability to translate classic soul for this moment shows promise, but it’s going to take some time.
