Tahuna Breaks: Reflections (Chewy/Rhythmethod)

 |   |  <1 min read

Tahuna Breaks: Crisis
Tahuna Breaks: Reflections (Chewy/Rhythmethod)

While I understand the wide appeal of Fat Freddy's Drop -- a laidback distillation of reggae, soul and so forth -- it is too mellow for my taste.

Tahuna Breaks -- who also distill elements of soul and reggae but have an urgent rock attack too -- are much more my kind of thing.

Vocalist Marty Greentree often sings like his life depends on it and, being driven by a kind of live drum'n'bass feel with some funk tossed in for good measure, this album just leaps out and grabs you.

On Weekend Lover Man there are times when you can hear Greentree reaching into the blues also, Crisis comes with a slightly ominous undertow, and Blinded is an object lesson in how to have a reggae groove that still hits hard and allows Greentree to be both glad to have found a lover -- but also unsettlingly menacing in his need.

They do tend to play their aces early here -- they seem to have more than their share in the deck incidentally, but in music we don't consider that cheating -- and the closer If I Could strays way too far into Eagles balladry for my liking.

But by my count eight out of the 10 tracks here are commanding. And mellow they ain't.

Share It

Your Comments

David - Dec 20, 2008

this CD continues to grow on me. Now has gone into the Car CD player - which means it's gotta be good

post a comment

More from this section   Reggae at Elsewhere articles index

Bob Marley and the Wailers/Scientist: In Dub Vol 1 (Universal)

Bob Marley and the Wailers/Scientist: In Dub Vol 1 (Universal)

With only a few exceptions, these 11 BMW tracks dubbed up and down by Scientist are disappointing and in many instances surprisingly unadventurous. This collection originally appeared on-line a... > Read more

JIMMY CLIFF, REGGAE PIONEER, INTERVIEWED (1993): Many rivers crossed

JIMMY CLIFF, REGGAE PIONEER, INTERVIEWED (1993): Many rivers crossed

Jimmy Cliff – the fundamental reggae pioneer -- could have been a contender.  Never quite the crown prince of reggae, a title taken without struggle by Bob Marley, Cliff... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

CARLOS SANTANA, THE CRUCIAL ALBUMS (2013): White light, with a Latin beat

CARLOS SANTANA, THE CRUCIAL ALBUMS (2013): White light, with a Latin beat

One of the dumbest questions you can ask a musician in an interview – and it was asked a lot by people writing for teen-pop magazines in the 60s – is this conversation-stopper:... > Read more

Curtis Salgado and Alan Hager: Rough Cut (Alligator/Southbound)

Curtis Salgado and Alan Hager: Rough Cut (Alligator/Southbound)

Elsewhere has doubtless made this observation previously but it remains true: the blues gets little airplay, there are few enough albums released (and consequently sold) yet whenever a decent... > Read more