Review by Doug Cornell

Sometimes it takes a bit of floor pounding soul music to get yourself moving.  Maktub call themselves "Heavy Soul," which differs from the original '70's style of soul in that the music relies less upon keyboards and horns and more upon guitars and modern beats.

Say What You Mean offers 10 tracks that vary from hyper dance-floor mayhem ("Promise Me") to smooooth vocal pop ("Say What You Mean", "20 Years, "Hunt You Down").  The beat and instruments seem secondary to the vocals, but tracks like "Daily Dosage," with it's slamming guitars and high energy level, are suitably heavy enough to cross over to the rock crowd.  Another solid soul rocker is "Seeing Is Believing," which opens with the energy of a Lenny Kravitz track.

Ultimately, Say What You Mean is a pop vocal album that just barely falls short of being a full soul album.   "Blown Away" is one example;  the song begins as a slow burning ballad that makes a stab at containing the heart-wrenching style that is associated with soul.   But the band's heavy soul style on tracks like "Feel Like Another One" is slick enough to be called rock and roll.

These guys are gender benders to be sure.  Say What You Mean is a slick crossover album that will very likely reach a diverse audience.