Rootdown – Tidal Wave
Track Listing:
1.) Good Day
2.) Tidal Wave
3.) All I Wanna Do
4.) Golden
5.) You’re Mine
6.) Storm Warning
7.) Growing Up
8.) HB (Keep on Dancin)
9.) Karl Malone In a Cowboy Hat
10.) Weekend
The Pier Album Rating:
Release Date: May 17th, 2011
Record Label: Ocean Ave Records
Official Website: Rootdownsound.com
Group Background:
Created in 2007 by solo national touring/recording artist Paul Wright, Rootdown’s music falls into the “pop/rock/reggae” category of band and genre, a well-developed musical culture with roots stretching back to the early days of Bob Marley, through the years of Sublime, and into today with many different bands spearheading the direction like Pepper and Slightly Stoopid. Think Beastie Boys meets Beach Boys.
ROOTDOWN has 2 EP’s released before their first full length album of Tidal Wave. In 2007, they released their first self-titled EP and it’s now available for FREE download inside our MP3 Massive by clicking HERE. In 2009, the group put out their EP titled Summer of Love & there are 3 songs from that release available for download, also found in our MP3 Massive section by clicking HERE.
Album Review:
Debuting their first full length album, Rootdown’s Tidal Wave is breaking offshore with a Pacific Northwest swell of reggae developing into an A-frame break of rock, pop & upbeat hip hop, showing off an original approach and direction the group is taking with their evolving sound. Tidal Wave holds 10 brand new songs, displaying a legitimate push for the radio, with every song being a candidate. The album carries a positive, socially conscience & uplifting message of love through a poppy beach rock approach.
This is an album you can push play and probably enjoy with both your parents and friends alike. It’s very PG. There’s no cursing, you don’t have to worry about hurrying to skip the song with heavy drug praises or foul language. You still get your Reggae fix, but its shared with poppy, radio friendly rock and Rootdown pulls it off well. Credit really goes to Christopher Stevens, the Grammy-winning producer responsible for the production of this album. Very clean sounding & well put together exercising the obvious strengths of the group’s influence, blending their reggae acoustic background with fast pace rhyming, upbeat skanks & poppy melodic hooks with white wash rock followed by some tastes of hip hop breaks, anchored by its overall spiritual message of love.
From start to finish, this album has something for everyone and for me I was able to walk away with a few songs that will make the cut for future playlists. I wouldn’t nominate it for album of the year, but i’d highly suggest giving it a listen because i’m afraid you may miss out on some songs that are really capable of changing the color of your day. For me it came in the form of songs like their first single, Good Day along with All I Wanna Do, You’re Mine, Golden and HB.
Funny story the band shared about the track HB, it was created on the spot while doing a concert in Huntington Beach, CA. Crowd asked for an Encore following their set, but Rootdown was out of songs and rather than playing another song twice, the group free-styled their way into what would later become the very upbeat, fun rhyming, dancehall breaking song that we now call Track 8 on this album known as HB. Has a catchy chorus that stays with you while signing “HEY HEY we keep on dancing like HEY HEY Woah-Ohhhh!”.
The Album falls short on a few songs I was unable to personally connect with or finish, such as album titled Tidal Wave, Storm Warning and Weekend. Tidal Wave, while I can see it receiving plenty of radio attention, it was a song I found myself skipping a minute into it. Maybe thats because my favorite song on the album was the following track All I Wanna Do. It’s a classic love song confessing love behind a bouncy reggae beat & poppy hook. It carries a lot of change ups to the song, which easily holds your attention. It sounds like it’s the final version to their work in progress from the song Me & You that was featured on the Sense Boardwear Acoustic Compilation that was released in August of 2010.
As I stated throughout the review, this album is poppy, fun, you’ll find your reggae fix, but you may have to tough your way through some of the PG pop rock to get to it, but when you do, you cant help but give the group credit for the way they crafted it altogether. It’s an original sounding album, I like how they’re reaching out and incorporating new styles & sounds, particularly in the rock department. Credit to production, originality & my album favorite, All I Wanna Do.
You can pick up Tidal Wave on iTunes May 17th, 2011
Written & Reviewed by: Mike Patti
[Editors Note: All reviews are reflective of the album in it’s entirety, from start to finish. These reviews are the honest opinion of each writer/reviewer, expressing their feedback as a genuine fan of the music. Each star rating reflects their review of the album, not the band. Music is subjective. Regardless of the review or star rating, we encourage you to listen to the music yourself & form your own opinion. Spread the awareness of all music in its art & contribution]
