Album Review: My Way Home, by Eli "Paperboy" Reed

My Way Home is the fifth full-length LP for Soulful R&B artist Eli "Paperboy" Reed, and his return to indie labels following a brief stint with Warner Brothers. In contrast with his last effort, the glitzy and glamorous Nights Like This, Reed's latest is less produced but more organic, soulful, and artistic. Reed's background in church gospel really comes through, with his voice crooning emotionally about life, love, and religion, with songs like "Eyes on You" and the impressive second track "Your Sins Will Find You Out" using religion as a major theme. The album has several fun and frenetic tracks bound to get audiences grooving, especially lead single "Hold Out" and the frantic "The Strangest Thing," both of which see Reed stretch his vocal chords to the very limit of human capacity. Title Track "My Way Home" is one of the more laidback and rythymic songs on the album, with Reed crooning about his long journey home. Lastly, the second to last track on the 11-song LP, "A Few Days More," is quite a standout, with a fantastically funky rythym reminiscent of a bluessy Alabama Shakes single finishing the album on quite a high note. Overall, Reed's latest is excellent, spanning the singing and songwriting capabilities of Reed as well as the entire genre of R&B. Reed's return to indie would be a welcome addition to the collections of R&B and even Gospel fans, hopefully accelerating Eli  Reed's upward trajectory.