Words by Justin Turford

"No punches pulled, no compromises, just me” - Olivier St. Louis

I first came across Olivier on his two funky psyche-soul EPs on Berlin label Jakarta back in 2015, both of which were honest and raw soul releases dominated by his fuzz guitar and impassioned harmonies. They got a lot of play from me at the time but to be honest, I haven’t managed to follow up with his career since. Well it appears he has been busy. He subsequently released an EP with Bibio on Warp Records and newly signed to First Word Records, we now have this excellent seven tracker produced by longtime collaborator and fellow DC native, the remarkable MC and producer Oddisee.

'M.O.T.H. Matters Of The Heartless' is a much more polished affair compared to the aforementioned EPs but Olivier’s eccentric soul remains. The fuzz guitar remains but it isn’t the focus here, various modern soul forms are tinkered with, allowing new ways to reveal his songwriting skills.

‘Confliction’ is a deep as a dungeon boom bap ballad with stellar vocal pleading from Olivier and a star set of bars from Oddisee himself. The opener ‘Jump The Line’ is quality 90’s style R&B bump’n’grind, slickly arranged with a big ass singalong chorus. An update on the Bobby Brown ballad form with touches of the more organic Neo-Soul groove, Olivier’s always present guitar keeping it loose.

There have been comparisons to D’Angelo and Shuggie Otis but in my opinion these are a bit lazy and far from the mark. Both of these artists have a rootsier, even jazzier core. A more accurate angle would be the massively talented Raphael Saadiq and ‘Runnin’ Wild’ is right there. Like Saadiq, Olivier can move seamlessly across funk, rock and retro-soul, throwing faultless and expressive guitar shapes AND delivering a great vocal simultaneously.

‘All In Love’ is bedroom time. Probably the most ‘pop’ track on the record, the beats still knock and is a spacious heart-warmer of a groove. ‘Steady’ is an odd disco-tinged slow-burner with funk guitar, skipping drums and bass and a George Benson type guitar and scat duel that maybe he should do more often. Really great chord changes as well keep this one fresh. I’m guessing that the sleazy guitar led ‘Serotonin’ is where the D’Angelo comparisons stem from though it is pure Sly Stone in reality. He does it well though that’s for sure! The jazziest tune on the release ‘Don’t Quit’ also showcases Olivier’s rawest vocal and is a perfect example of his alternative soul universe, his rules, his vision. With Oddisee’s full fat production holding the record together, M.O.T.H. should grab the ears of those who like their soul with their hop. Good work all round.

RELEASED ON JAN 29th 2021 on First Word Records

BUY HERE! https://olivierstlouis.bandcamp.com/album/matters-of-the-heartless