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Review

Album Review: Mellow Mood - 2 The World

04/10/2015

by Gardy Stein

The twins are back! Only 10 month after the release of their impressive third album Twinz, the Italian brothers L.O. and Jacob Garzia and band members Federico Mazzolo, Filippo Buresta and Giulio Frausin deliver part 2 of their clever double-shot. What a great idea to create twin-albums!

The two oeuvres really have plenty elements of resemblance: the intro is spoken by the same person, and the last song Love Mama is again a dedication to the woman who did a wonderful job raising these talented young men. Even the CD-covers are almost the same, only the colours differ and the twins switched positions.  

While last time Richie Campbell featured on the song Inna Jamaica, this time it's Forelock and the sweet voice of Hempress Sativa who accompany the Garzias on Inna Jamaica Pt. 2, another love-letter to the island of rivers and waters.

Female features seem to be a welcome discovery for this round: there are two more on the album, and both of them are top-class contributions. Thus, the boys succeeded to convince soaring star Jah9 to voice Wipe Away as well as Tanya Stephens for Extra Love. The tonality of this tune is more daring and direct than any on Twinz, and this is actually one of the biggest differences between the two: on 2 The World, we hear a new side of Mellow Mood. The experimental excursions into dancehall such as Weh Yuh Trend or Everything She Want show the diversity this band has come to embrace and might open up a whole new audience to them.

Other features include Andrew I on Criminal and another exciting feat: twins vs. twins! In the aptly entitled Twinz Invation, the Garzia's teamed up with Gideon and Selah, the singing twins of Jamaica who are at the bottom of the Jah Ova Evil Records & movement.

The songs that touch me personally the most are again the ballads: Write To You is a perfect tune to spend rocking in the arms of your sweetheart, for instance. And the gentle Bun Mi Heart, a song so intense that it could only have been written by first-hand experience, has swept me off my feet as much as Don't Leave I Lonely did last year. Audible beauty!

Paolo Baldini proves again that he knows how to produce brilliance, and with La Tempesta as the backing label, the fruitful collaboration of last year is continued. Looking at Mellow Mood's busy tour schedule, their hard work seems to pay off. They are unstoppably making their way 2 The World!

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