Why do I get the feeling that Inner Circle wants to not be
\nremembered for the theme music from
\nCops<\/i>?<\/p>\n
The Jamaican reggae group has never really broken ground in
\nAmerica except for their contribution to the antithesis of Jerry
\nSpringer (unlike that crap,
\nCops<\/i> is reality). For what it’s worth, reggae has had a
\ndifficult time since the 1981 death of its de facto leader Bob
\nMarley.<\/p>\n
This all could change thanks to Inner Circle’s latest release
\nSpeak My Language<\/i>, an album that features the natural
\nprogression of reggae that I think Marley would have followed had
\nhe lived. One part pop, one part rock and with enough of the spice
\nthat makes reggae sound so unique, Ian Lewis and crew have created
\nsome very entertaining music.<\/p>\n
Lead vocalist Kris Bentley leads the band with smoothly
\ndelivered vocals (though I honestly can’t tell if he is also the
\none delivering the DJ raps in the songs). More often than not, the
\ncore of the band (bassist Ian Lewis, rhythm guitarist Roger Lewis,
\nkeyboardist\/backing vocalist Touter Harvey and drummer Lancelot
\nHall) seem to break out of the traditional chugga-chugga sound that
\nis the trademark of reggae music, substituting more pop-oriented
\nrhythms in its place.<\/p>\n
This is a surprise to me, though it really shouldn’t be. You
\nsee, prior to Marley’s death, he seemed to be experimenting with
\nslightly different rhythms that went more towards rock (“Could You
\nBe Loved”) or even acoustic ballad (“Redemption Songs”). So, what
\nInner Circle really is doing is carrying on in the spirit of where
\nMarley was taking the music – and in the end, it turns out to be a
\nwelcome change for reggae. (I should also have remembered that
\ngroups like Wailin’ Souls were trying to put a new spin on reggae a
\nfew years ago.)<\/p>\n
Songs like the title track (featuring ex-Arrested Development
\nmember Speech), “Party’s Just Begun” and “I Love Girls” are all
\nentertaining songs that you’ll find yourself humming softly in the
\nelevator on your way to the office. You can break out of the
\nstereotype that reggae only sings the glory of Jah and marajuana;
\nthis type of reggae, while still having a bit of social commentary
\nin it, is more feel-good music (though I’d stop short of calling it
\nparty music).<\/p>\n
One track, “Da Bomb,” gets two different treatments on
\nSpeak My Language<\/i>. The original version which opens the
\nalbum is a wonder to behold, while the dancehall mix is a throwback
\nto the sound of artists like Mutabaruka, and doesn’t really win
\nover the listener. In a strange sort of way, the progression of the
\nmusic hurts Inner Circle when they try to return to their
\nroots.<\/p>\n
Some of the tracks on
\nSpeak My Language<\/i> are a bit forgettable, such as “We A
\nRockers” and “Not About Romance,” but for the most part the music
\ncontained on this disc could be the lift Inner Circle needs to
\nbreak out of the one-song-known mentality of some listeners. Quite
\npossibly, this could be the first true breakthrough that Inner
\nCircle has been looking and waiting for.<\/p>\n
\nSpeak My Language<\/i> is one of the better reggae albums I’ve
\nheard in a long time, and is one that can be and should be enjoyed
\nby fans of many different musical genres, proving that music is
\nindeed a universal language.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[7516],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-39256","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-inner-circle","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39256"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39256"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}