Train To Roots ADD

Review

Album Review: Train To Roots - Growing

04/01/2014

by Gardy Stein

Train to Roots is definitely a band on the rise, and Growing is a veritable prophecy for their future.

Bella Italia! The sound of these words alone creates associations of sun, beach, amore and dolce vita, especially if you (like me) recently spent a holiday in this beautiful country. Discovering the Italian band Train To Roots is like discovering in posterus the soundtrack to such a trip.

After their debut entitled Train to Roots in 2005 and the subsequent Terra e Acqua (2008) and Breathing Faya (2011), their fourth album Growing reaches for the sky, thus adding the airy element of wind and spirit to earth, water and fire. Considering their home base Sardinia, it's no wonder that they find plenty inspiration in the beauty of the landscape and the mildness of the climate! In any case, we are the beneficiaries of this inspiration that manifests itself in twelve carefully manufactured tracks. Just press play, get on the train and see where it takes you!

Rolling out of the station with an homage to Africans in the intro, the powerful Gangstar moves us through the suburbs, the ghetto, appealing to the bad men to put down their weapons and "not play Mafia".  Fortunately, this serious mood is lifting as soon as we leave the town behind us. Aprile is a sweet breezy Rub-a-Dub piece, and with the sexy melting voices of singers Simone "Bujumannu" Pireddu, Michele "Rootsman I" Mulas and "Paolinho" Secchi, it's a perfect mix of Reggae vibes and Italian charm that makes you wanna hold your girl (or be held by your man) and dance forever in the lush Toscanian spring hills.

While I can't say much about the lyrics of Le Leggi dell'Ospitalita, I can say that it is a little masterwork of arrangement. We seem to be thrown into a bustling Italian family celebration, and especially the background-choir reminds me of the melodic Oldies I used to sing along loudly when I was a kid. Feel-good music! Up next, the radio-fit Change will probably let some mainstream-listeners on board, while the tender Just D Lov turns our train into a candle-lit, rose-strewn carriage of romance.

The ride picks up speed with a dynamic Ever, a song that combines classic Roots-beats, strong vocals and surprising remix-elements. This tempo is easily kept up in Hot Situation, a DubStep-infused Ska-tune (or the other way round, if you like) with which we reach the party-station, located somewhere on a Sardinian beach. Here, we have a Blind Date with what for me is the boom-tune of the album. Not only do the musicians Antonio "Papa'Ntò" Leardi (keyboards), Simone "Doctor Bass" Bardi (bass), Giampaolo "Jambo" Bolelli (guitar), Stefano "Stiv Man I" Manai (guitar) and Carlo "Groover" Pippia  (drums) peak on their instruments, but likewise the three singers, who wrap us into a comfortable cocoon of joy and happiness with their voices.

Leaving the beach, we are definitely going west(ern) in Nulla Da Perdere – shades of Billy he Kid! The only feature of the album takes Jamaram on board, a cooperation that results in the HipHop-version Life Is Beautiful. After rolling into terminal station with Wake Up, the end is a bit abrupt and leaves us hanging, yearning for more. Actually the perfect precondition to visit a Live-Show of these guys, a task made easier by a planned tour throughout Europe.

Train to Roots is definitely a band on the rise, and Growing is a veritable prophecy for their future. Despite their name, they don't stick to Roots Reggae, but successfully dare to cross genre borders in any direction, thus creating a versatile musical output that is easily accessible for many different listeners. Pronto, attenti e via!

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