Occasionally, completely random shit happens, and you find yourself in a new, unique, and altogether unexpected situation – this is  exactly how last Thursday was for me and how I came across Vibe Warrior and the song that hasn’t left my speakers for more than 15 minutes in the last week.

Tucked away in the back of Hattie’s Hat in Seattle was a stage, a few amps, a computer, a keyboard, a mic, and enough space to fit just a few more people. When Vibe Warrior started, it was casual and without much of an introduction. What proceeded was the opening track off his Real Talk EP, “Maybe Yes Maybe No”. A roots, rock, soul mash up that caused everyone watching to trip into a pulsating trace  – bodies that hip’d-and-hoped and swayed as singer Samuel Glover’s voice saturated the room with warm tones and top-shelf melodies. He created a timeless moment with that first song, and set a mood of flowing and thumping vibes that lingered heavy in the room for his whole performance. When he was done and I was on my way out, I thanked Mr. Glover, grabbed a cd, and crossed my fingers, hoping that the transition from live show to record wouldn’t steal from my experience as many recordings can and have.

I scored – “Maybe Yes Maybe No” is legit, getting several repeats as the lyrics, “Why’s it gotta be complicated, always dealing with a complication, for you it’s simple, for me to, for me, me, me, me, me too” get firmly rooted in my head before moving on to the next song. Keeping the listeners feet moving, the EP then takes on a more modern dance vibe – touching on very similar tones and feelings as R&B freak-folk artist Toro Y Moi, in the song “Under Your Finger”. “Get Happy” is an odd song with a trembling kick drum line that Vibe Warrior spits out lyrics on top of, like, “Fairy dust travelers, moon shoe bouncers, all the blue sky bafflers, go to insanity counselors ”

“Interstellar Battles” hit’s on a similar upbeat and poppy vibe as  “Maybe Yes Maybe No”, but hits a stride of it’s own, sounding like Glover wrote it on the beach with an acoustic guitar, smooth and relaxed, with a fat beat to push the song into the listener’s head, forcing it to bob and back forth.

After it’s initial release, the EP’s name was changed from Real Talk to Interstellar Battles, Glover saying that, “I’m still trying to find my sound and I think Interstellar Battles goes more with what I’m trying to do right now”. Either way you name it, this EP is awesome and it gets a “R-A-W-K” out of the “R-A-W-K-D” scale. You can listen to Vibe Warrior at www.soundcloud.com/vibewarrior, or go to www.natselect.bandcamp.com to download all of Samuel Glover’s stuff (including Intersteller Battles) under his old moniker, Natural Selection.

– Dominic Cortese, music writer, The Monarch Review