Galactic is a jam band from Louisiana, and they’ve been at it for over twenty years now.

The New Orleans sextet’s eighth studio album, Into the Deep, is due out July 17th. It features guest vocals from Mavis Staples, JJ Grey, Ryan Montbleau, Brushy One String, and Macy Gray, among others.

The first song below is a nice, mellow shuffle; it sounds like a classic Mavis Staples song that just happens to have a phenomenal backing band behind it.

The second song is more judicious; it’s comprised of one-half JJ Grey’s road-weary, soulful rasp and one-half Galactic being awesome. It also might set the record for Most Flams Played in a Single Song . . . and cheers to any drummer readers who know what a flam is.

You can pre-order Into the Deep right here.

RIYL: old soul music, new soul music, good music, people who are really good at playing their instruments

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BONUS: Here’s a video of two of the band members doing a track-by-track discussion of the album and its many guest appearances. Very neato stuff.