The best way to describe Benedict Arnold's music is organic hip-hop soul. For the uninitiated, that means live soul and funk music backed with relentless grooves and smooth rap vocals. Think Medeski Martin & Wood with Common sitting in on vocals. A solid rhythm section of bassist Sean Cahalin and drummer Jesse Brayman lay down a foundation of heavy beats for Sage Atwood's jazz guitar and Dan Bolton's gurgling organ, while MC Biggybux drops mostly harmless verses that ride comfortably within the grooves.

The balance between Biggybux’s clever rhymes and the band’s musical flourishes is near perfect, with a few full instrumentals thrown in for effect. On first listen, songs tend to blur together by the end of the album’s 60-minute run time, but further spins reveal subtle nuances that thoroughly impress, like the delicate flute behind the verses of “Benedict Sound,” the cello and acoustic accompaniment on the chorus of “We Could,” and the stellar trumpet and guitar solo at the finale of “Life Will Go On.”

Benedict Arnold won UMass Lowell’s Battle of the Bands this spring and also recently opened for Sublime tribute band Badfish in front of a 1,000+ crowd at the Worcester Palladium. Early on in “Don’t Drop the Ball,” Biggybux rhymes, “A lot of people thought Benedict coming soft at first / But we hit with the music in your ear / and you know this is our year.” So far, it sounds like he isn’t far from the truth.

If you want to impress your fellow Lowellians, visit Benedict Arnold’s web site, pick up a copy of The Night Café, and throw it on at your next loft party.

www.benedictarnoldmusic.com

For more Benedict Arnold funkiness, check them out live on Saturday night, May 10, at the Lowell Brewery Exchange, with Goosepimp Orchestra and Trip Fisk.