Fort Wayne’s Sun.Dyle is all about the slow jam — soulful vocals, slinky grooves, tasteful keys, breezy sax, and bass that adds just the right amount of funk. 

Their sound lies somewhere between Rickie Lee Jones, Spyro Gyra, and Edie Brickell & New Bohemians enjoying a night of good wine and late-era Weather Report on the turntable. It’s complex and intricate but also warm and a little sexy. This is soul music for the musically inclined, while still offering up something for those that just want to groove and let loose.

Singer Emma Torres, saxophonist Ashton Morris, guitarist Luke Delgado, bassist Ben Beutel, keyboardist Ben Francis, and drummer Carlos Rosa have been together less than a year, but they are creating buzz for their excellent live shows and catchy tunes. 

Depending on who’s listening, you can find all kinds of familiar vibes on Faintest Idea. For the older folks that grew up on ’70s radio, you may hear touches of Steely Dan or the vibes of Joni Mitchell and Rickie Lee Jones. Younger listeners might not hear those touchstones, but they’ll lock into what Sun.Dyle is doing. The key is to tune your ears, regardless of age, to the songs and appreciate what the band is cooking. Sun.Dyle is cooking up something good.

The four tracks on Faintest Idea are a bit of a sampler dish of what Sun.Dyle can do. From the slinky groove of opener “Love Like You” to the Steely Dan vibes of horn-heavy “Luna,” you know this band means business. There’s a bit of attitude in the vocal delivery and some tasteful wah guitar laid on top like thick jam.

“Breezy” brings things down a bit with its late-night vibes, bittersweet chord changes, and distant saxophone swells. Touches of Sade and even Norah Jones come through here. Title track “Faintest Idea” finishes up the hot and sultry session with a steady beat and an aggressive feel.

Faintest Idea shows a band barely six months old, yet they are tight and locked in like they’re a decade into it.