Howl is soul with its jacket off. --NPRThey've taken their self-described post-punk soul sound and added dark layers alongside the soulful grooves. --CBC.caJC Brooks & the Uptown Sound exemplify what previous Chicago soul musicians like Sam Cooke, the Five Stairsteps, The Dells, and countless others have projected a sense of community encapsulated and illustrated through emotional profundity that yearns for expression and admiration. --Indie ShuffleThey've taken their self-described post-punk soul sound and added dark layers alongside the soulful grooves. --CBC.caJC Brooks & the Uptown Sound exemplify what previous Chicago soul musicians like Sam Cooke, the Five Stairsteps, The Dells, and countless others have projected a sense of community encapsulated and illustrated through emotional profundity that yearns for expression and admiration. --Indie ShuffleAlthough there s plenty of melody in the Uptown Sound s arrangements, it leans more towards Stax than Motown, occasionally with a punk-like amount of unbridled intensity. The band's third album, Howl, is a gritty and vulnerable album of R&B; cuts that sound like a gritty soul take on Ryan Adams Heartbreaker. --KEXP SeattleNever lets go of its rock bloodlines and stays Soul with its rhythm and the fire in the belly of its delivery…Howl is the sound of Soul expanding. --The Alternate Root