I first heard Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears when they opened for, and were the horn section with, Spoon. And I was thoroughly blown away by this throwback to another era. Horns. Keys. Wailing. It's all in there, and it's damn near perfect.
There's not much more I can say about these guys. It's obvious who their influences are. And that space is pretty empty in today's music, so I imagine they can continue to do this for a long time without changing too much.
We got to see them perform at the fantastic KEXP/Bumbershoot Music Lounge at this year's Bumbershoot, and we brought our 16-month old along for the ride because they have a cry room in the back of the space (the stage is in a children's theater). And Isaac ate it up, clapping along, laughing, a little bit taken aback by the reverberations of the bass notes, but he had a great time. And if that's not a resounding recommendation, I don't know what is.