Big and brassy, Richter City Rebels aim to make their mark on your seismograph by focusing on the funk.

The band is exactly as tight as they need to be: loose and swinging when the song calls for it, completely in the pocket when the funk demands it. The quality of musicianship is impeccable, and as the album title attests, this ain’t no stale old brass band. Tasty solo spots leap from the speakers with joyful energy.

Special mention must be made of the standout sousaphone playing of Kelvin Payne, providing a constant, solid bass groove using nothing more than a pair of lips and a whole lotta lungpower. Locking in with the percussionists, the sousaphone just makes you want to wiggle your wotsit, as well as providing the sirocco beneath the soloists’ sails.

The Rebels cleverly deploy guest vocalists to vary up the sound. Troy ‘Musical Chameleon’ Kingi makes an appearance, and Aurélien Barnes contributes trumpet as well as some soulful vocals on No Justice, No Peace. For the biggest vocal impact, it’s a toss-up between two different approaches. Matthew Pender provides powerful and emotional soul/jazz style performances on Can’t Take My Hands Off You and I Could Beat You In A Fight. In the other corner, weighing in at an unspecified number of pounds, there’s Moira Jean, Chris CK and someone so fresh they’re called Raw Deezy, bringing a New-Orleans-meets-Shabba-Ranks vibe on Pop a 7%er.

If you’ve enjoyed Niko Ne Zna and Whanganui’s Damn Raucous Brass Band, this is for you. On the other hand, if you’ve been avoiding brass bands due to a childhood trumpet trauma, it’s time to take a fresh look – a ‘Big Fresh’ look – at Richter City Rebels.