Maverick Sabre - Lonely Are the Brave

Maverick Sabre - London-based 21-year-old singer brings together gritty elements of hip-hop street beats, funky 60's retro-soul and sleek, punched up grooves that are deep, wide and impressive...with a smoky voice that's equal parts rough rasp and tender tone, Sabre has turned a few well-received singles into high anticipation for his major label debut album in the U.K. // Release: Lonely Are the Brave (February 6, Mercury UK) // Sounds like: an odd modern-vs.-vintage sound, obviously influenced by the work of Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson, is the foot-in-the-door calling card but Sabre comes to the table with a well-honed skill set that takes Brave firmly into his own world...the reverbed dub beats, Sabre's UB-40-friendly vocals and the dense orchestration at the heart of the production give much of the album a loose reggae-tinged feel...(stream samples of the full album after the jump)

Quote: "All my music is a mix of everything I've listened to over time. Some people listen to it and say that's a soul track, it's got a hip-hop influence, a bit of blues. Really, I want my music to be everything I've been influenced by, and my own stamp on that. I don't really know what label to put on it. If I had to say something it would be hip-hop inspired soulful folk music." // What we like: The broad soul swath of "Let Me Go" has a classic Stax Records sound, a killer beat melded to a strings and horns base that would have made Isaac Hayes smile...New single "No One" is both smoky and smokin', a grand Winehouse-styled track that's the perfect backdrop for Sabre's distinctively raw/smooth singing...the soaring, majestic cover of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" seals the proverbial deal..

Maverick Sabre - "No One" (from Lonely Are the Brave)

Maverick Sabre - "Let Me Go" (from Lonely Are the Brave)

Click on any of the songs in the youtube video to immediately to that track: