In his 1970 Playboy Interview, Ray Charles described soul as "people who do things from the heart." In performance and on record, it is undeniable that JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound are 100% soul. With a sound that calls to mind the melting pot Chicago Uptown neighborhood they’re named for—a meeting of Otis Redding and the Stooges—JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound get crowds twisting and writhing on the floor, something that’s been sorely missing from live music.

On Want More, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound’s first album for Bloodshot, the charismatic Brooks erupts with raw emotion, harnessing the Uptown Sound’s post-punk reimagining of JB’s moves and MG’s grooves to unleash pure and uncompromising soul music ranging from sweaty on-the-one workouts ("I Can See Everything"), dance-punk booty shakers (the title track "Want More"), garage rock thump humps ("Baaadnews"), and aching R&B ballads ("To Love Someone (Who Don’t Love You)") without a missed step in between. JCBUS are not just another throwback group; they came to be during an age of war, envisioning an aggressive dance music with lyrics that dig deeper and hit harder than the usual "baby, baby" fare.