Black Pumas: self-titled (2LP, deluxe edition, gold, black & red vinyl) [ATO]

Why you'll love it

This deluxe 2LP set on gold, black & red vinyl adds a side of new songs and covers plus a side of live recordings. The album earned Black Pumas a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year, and "Colors" went to No. 1 on AAA radio.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Deluxe edition
• Gold, black & red vinyl
• Bonus live-in-studio side
• Download card included
• Stereo mix

About the album

Eric Burton was busking on the Santa Monica Pier and later the streets of Austin when a mutual friend introduced him to Adrian Quesada, a Grammy-winning guitarist from Grupo Fantasma with a pile of retro soul and funk tracks looking for a voice. They became Black Pumas in 2018 and road-tested the songs at a weekly residency at C-Boys Heart & Soul Bar.

"Colors" is the one that broke them, a sunlit soul song that spread from Jimmy Kimmel Live! to Austin City Limits. "Black Moon Rising" and "Fire" were the first singles, "Know You Better" and "Oct 33" simmer with psychedelic organ, and Quesada's production keeps every drum and horn sounding like a warm old 45. The deluxe set adds their much-loved take on Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car," originally premiered on The Late Show, along with "I Am Ready" and live-in-studio versions of the hits.

The duo were nominated for Best New Artist, then Record and Album of the Year, and Austin's mayor proclaimed May 7, 2020 Black Pumas Day. Not many records come with their own municipal holiday; we'd recommend observing it at a sensible volume.

Also at Kops: more Black Pumas on vinyl · browse 70s Soul On Up

Tracklist

Listen

On ATO (cat# ATO0534), a reissue of the 2019 album.