Rob’s Album Of The Week: Seratones’ Power

It isn’t a rarity when a band introduces different elements in the follow-up to their debut album. The trick to it is how they move their sound forward while maintaining what made them excellent in the first place. With Shreveport, Louisiana soul rock act Seratones, they went through a few changes since they made their introduction with 2016’s Get Gone. When guitarist Connor Davis left the band, they added keyboardist Tyron Coker and Travis Stewart as Davis’ replacement on guitar. The result has the band shifting themselves towards more of a Motown-esque tone and it’s apparent in their sophomore release, Power, that came out on August 23 via New West Records.

The incorporation of Coker on the keys is immediately noticed and he compliments frontwoman AJ Haynes’ voice excellently. Her singing also has a big presence that consistently adds range and melody from the first song onward. Jesse Gabriel’s drumming has also changed a bit with him being more rhythmic rather than being a complete powerhouse. This could be because of Adam Davis’ bass playing. Haynes’ and Stewart’s guitars still play a role but rather than shredding they pull off cool and smooth solos.

Do these tweaks that Seratones have made in their new album make that much of a difference? No, but that’s important. They’re progressing in the right direction without trying too hard and doing…