We first came across Aussie band THE REGIME in October 2020. Out intro came via a gorgeous single, ‘Never Gonna Stop’ which UK boutique label Izipho Soul had licensed. The Izipho team have a real knack for picking top tunes and this ‘Never Gonna Stop’ was one of their very best… one of those rare soul cuts where everything is just right, and you can’t quite say why it’s so irresistible… it just is! The next we heard from the band was in February of this year when Izipho released another 45 on ‘em – ‘Be A Lover’. We described it as “four minutes of sublime contemporary soul” and our opinion’s not changed one jot!
Needing to know more, we learned that The Regime isn’t a band in the strictest sense. Coming out of Sydney, the outfit’s a loose collective that sometimes numbers up to 20 members (see below!). Confusingly maybe, the Regime also has a jazzy-soul spin off/alter ego ‘Pro Uno’ and were delighted to reveal that both combos have come together to deliver a wonderful album simply called ‘Sunny Day’ . The LP’s a concise 9 tracker – so there’s no filler, no daft interludes or anything else to distract from the quality of the music.
‘Never Gonna Stop’ is one of the included cuts (though there’s no toom for ‘Be A Lover’) and the former still sounds gorgeous. On most other albums it would be a standout but here every single track has something rather special to offer. The opener for instance, ‘What It Means’ is devilishly attractive. It’s another of those special recordings where you can’t say why it’s so attractive; you just know it is! It’s laid back and relaxing but never bland or MOR… a great hors d’oeuvre for the rest of the LP! Elsewhere there are plenty more delights – cuts that evoke the spirit of Al Green, Bill Withers even Steely Dan and the UK’s current blue-eyed soul stars Mamas Gun.
Interestingly there are two “sort of” rap tracks too – no don’t switch off. There’s the jazzy ‘Wish’ and the lighter, punchier ‘Feel That’. Two different vibes but both work really well. The latter in particular delivers a cute Aussie take on the genre.
Then there’s the quite lovely album title track. This is a lazy, brassy soul ramble. Sweet and lovely, it really does conjure up images of summer and lazy sunny days and as we shiver and freeze, god knows we could all do with some of that. The Regime/Pro Uno’s ‘Summer Day’ delivers a wonderful music antidote to the bleakness of European winters. It comes recommended and thanks to Toby Walker @ www.soulwalking.co.uk for sourcing this one for us!
