Sonic Soul Surfer

Sonic Soul Surfer is the seventh studio album by American blues musician Seasick Steve. It is the follow-up of his previous album Hubcap Music in 2013. It was released on 23 March 2015 worldwide. Three singles were released from the album : "Bring It On" was the lead single on 25 November 2014, "Summertime Boy" was the album's second single on 10 February 2015, and music video was shot, featuring Seasick Steve surfing. Another single and music video were released on 12 April 2015 : the album's opening track Roy's Gang. A "Sonic Soul Tour" is planned starting from April 2015, shows are planned in the US, and all over Europe : UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Netherlands, and Denmark.

Sonic Soul Surfer
Studio album by
Seasick Steve
ReleasedMarch 23, 2015
GenreRock, blues
LabelCaroline International, Bronze Rat Records
ProducerSeasick Steve
Seasick Steve chronology
Hubcap Music
(2013)		 Sonic Soul Surfer
(2015)		 Keepin' the Horse Between Me and the Ground
(2016)
Singles from Sonic Soul Surfer
  1. "Bring It On"
    Released: 25 November 2014
  2. "Summertime Boy"
    Released: 10 February 2015
  3. "Roy's Gang"
    Released: 12 April 2015
  4. "Barracuda '68"
    Released: 6 June 2015

The album was the most acclaimed by critics, with an average score of 70/100 according to Metacritic. It also was a commercial success, peaking 4 on the UK and Scottish albums charts, 16 in the Netherlands, 17 in Belgium, 25 in Ireland, and 64 in Australia, its best peak since his 2009 album Man From Another Time. Yet, it has been certified gold.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Metacritic70/100 [1]
Exclaim!7/10[2]
Mojo
Amazon
MusicOMH [3]
Allmusic [4]

Sonic Soul Surfer received critical acclaim, receiving an average score of 70/100 on Metacritic, based on 9 critics.

Mojo magazine gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, stating "Sonic Soul Surfer mostly trades in toe-tapping slide-guitar riffage". Q magazine also rewarded the album with 4 out of 5 stars. The Website "The Metropolist" rewarded the album with 3 out of 5 stars, picking lead single Bring It On as a "stand-out on Sonic Soul Surfer", but criticizing Roy's Gang as "falling a bit flat".

Calum Slingerland of Exclaim! acknowledged that the record was more about lateral movement as opposed to breaking new musical ground, writing that Sonic Soul Surfer "reassures listeners that the California native's desire to write and play is still very much alive."[1]

French website Stillinrock[5] also gave a positive review of the record, but however criticized it in these words : "it's a fact : Sonic Soul Surfer won't be a rock'n'roll revolution. However, only a few musician dare playing this kind of music [...]. If "powerful" is the word that comes to our mind when we think of Sonic Soul Surfer, it might be because Steve is an artists that lies neither to himself nor to his audience".

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Roy's Gang"6:07
2."Bring It On"3:46
3."Dog Gonna Play"5:17
4."In Peaceful Dreams"2:43
5."Summertime Boy"3:55
6."Swamp Dog"4:52
7."Sonic Soul Boogie"5:21
8."Right On Time"3:21
9."Barracuda '68"4:21
10."We Be Moving"5:21
11."Your Name"6:58
12."Heart Full of Scars"4:06
Deluxe Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Don't Ask Me"7:29
14."Baby Please Don't Go"4:12
15."Man's Best Friend"3:41
16."Silver Dagger"2:40

Charts and certifications

Charts
Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] 64
Irish Albums (IRMA)[7] 25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[8] 17
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[9] 43
French Albums (SNEP)[10] 57
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] 87
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12] 16
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 72
Scottish Albums (OCC)[14] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 4
US Top Blues Albums (Billboard)[16] 5

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Metacritic (March 25, 2015). "Seasick Steve - Sonic Soul Surfer". Metacritic. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  2. Slingerland, Calum (March 25, 2015). "Seasick Steve - Sonic Soul Surfer". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  3. Murphy, John (March 23, 2015). "Seasick Steve - Sonic Soul Surfer". MusicOMH. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  4. Deming, Mark (March 24, 2015). "Seasick Steve - Sonic Soul Surfer". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  5. "LP Review : Seasick Steve - Sonic Soul Surfer (Blues Rock)".
  6. "Australiancharts.com – Seasick Steve – Sonic Soul Surfer". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  7. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week {{{week}}}, {{{year}}}". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  8. "Ultratop.be – Seasick Steve – Sonic Soul Surfer" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  9. "Ultratop.be – Seasick Steve – Sonic Soul Surfer" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  10. "Lescharts.com – Seasick Steve – Sonic Soul Surfer". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  11. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Seasick Steve – Sonic Soul Surfer" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  13. "Swisscharts.com – Seasick Steve – Sonic Soul Surfer". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  14. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  15. "Seasick Steve | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  16. "Seasick Steve Chart History (Top Blues Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  17. "British album certifications – Seasick Steve – Sonic Soul Surfer". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Sonic Soul Surfer in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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