It isn’t often that a band captures every nuance of a genuine ‘60s-era Stax Records soul band. Yet there’s no sense of "retro" to St. Paul & The Broken Bones, even though they formed in 2011. Lead singer Paul Janeway sings with all the abandon of an old-school soul man, and the band’s use of Hammond B3 organs and strong but never slick horns sounds not like a band paying tribute to a bygone era, but rather like songs actually unearthed from the Stax vault. One listen to “Broken Bones & Pocket Change,” and even experts might assume this is the real deal. Yet this Birmingham, Ala.–based group have witnesses that assure us they're playing in 2014. From the opening blast of “I’m Torn Up” through tough Deep South tunes like “Call Me” and "Sugar Dyed,” Half the City sounds like the real thing. There’s nothing to suggest this is a "soul revival." The album was produced by Ben Tanner of Alabama Shakes, and it was recorded live to tape at the Nutthouse in Muscle Shoals and mixed at the legendary FAME Studio A.