Bambú Station

Break The Soil

(p) 2006-jul-28

CD:

Tracklisting:

 
00 Brotherhood  
01 Beloved People  
02 I Rememba  
03 Sense Enemy  
04 Chance To Grow (ft Reemah)  
05 King Baby  
06 Who? (Litany Of Tears)  
07 Bird's I View  
08 Sing Upright  
09 I Sing Prayses  
10 New World Order  
11 Dem Say So  
12 Halle-lu-Yah  
13 Injoy  
MT. NEBO RECORDS, NEBO3008 CD

REVIEW IN ENGLISH:
SOURCE: ROOTS MUSIC Reggae & Dancehall
AUTHOR: Teacha Dan



Bambú Station, with the accent on the u, has released their second full album on their own label. The band from the U.S. Virgin Islands has been recording with their current band members since 2000 and has already released a string of albums on their Mt Nebo Records label. Some are compilations and some are full albums for singers but the albums are always produced by Bambú Station and feature the core members as backing band.

Their previous release One Day (Mt. Nebo Records, 2003) received a lot of attention and was hailed by some as album of the year. I for one was not amazed by the album. I found it to be rather similar to what for example Midnite, also from the U.S. Virgin Islands, was doing. Bambú Station had a very recognizable style but overall the album was a bit dull while the music they produced for their other albums was a lot more thrilling.

Break The Soil is a lot more varied and therefore much more interesting than it's predecessor. It has some really mesmerising tunes on it and the lyrics are very well constructed and very conscious. The songs shift in tempo, style and sound but are always truly the works of Bambú Station. The voice of lead singer Jelani Horton is still close to Norman Grant's but shows much more potential and conviction than before and when he harmonises with the other members they sound really good wherever they go, sometimes indeed they are close to the Twinkle Brothers.

My favourites are the up-tempo opening track 'Brotherhood', the hypnotic 'Sense Enemy', the tense 'Sing Upright' and the beautiful 'Halle-lu-Yah'. Why the numbering of the tracks starts with zero is totally unclear to me and is really unnecessary and a nuisance when you are skipping through the disc or trying to find the right lyrics to a particular track, which are compiled in the rather sober booklet.

Music with a beating heart will grow on any listener and this is also true for Break The Soil. With interesting lyrics, fine and varied music and good mastering Bambú Station has now released a very worthwhile album.

(Teacha Dan, November 2006)