Over the years we have had the pleasure of working with various publicists who have brought us numerous indie masterpieces, but no one has been more consistent in championing the best of the best than Laura Goldfarb of Red Boot PR. Her latest client may be one of her best and we are proud to review the new cd for reggae fusion sextet Spiritual Rez, which drops on Friday, October 7.
Setting in the West is the fourth studio album for the boys from Boston, and is produced by Kenny Carkeet, the founding member of AWOLNATION. The album also features Duddy B of The Dirty Heads, HIRIE, and Billy Kottage of Reel Big Fish, as well as co-writing with John Feldman of Goldfinger, and co-producing by Max Collins of Eve 6.
Composed of Toft Willingham on vocals, Ian “Meat” Miller on drums, Jesse Shaternick on bass, Mohamed Araki on keys, Quinn Carson on trombone and Julian Dessler on trumpet, Spiritual Rez takes reggae music further than it has ever gone before. Check out their music video for the first single “Sober” if you doubt me.
Spiritual Rez has embarked upon a torrid tour that will take them to Oregon, Washington, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine before culminating in a show at the Ardmore Music Hall in Pennsylvania on December 16, where they will perform with Badfish, a Sublime tribute band. The band has previously shared the stage with such greats as George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Steel Pulse and Jimmy Buffet.
The album opens with the aforementioned “Sober,” and takes off from there. “Red Room” features Duddy B, “Together Always” features HIRIE, and “Bad Girl” features Billy Kottage, and that’s just the first four songs. Talk about taking the listener by storm. Check out the just released music video for the second single “Together Always.”
Speaking of “Bad Girl,” this song is a true homage to some of our favorite ska bands like No Doubt and Reel Big Fish, which is only fitting since it features Fish’s Kottage.
The best tracks of the rest of the album include “Whiskey,” “Tidal Wave,” and “Surface Tension.” This is truly a great album for anyone who loves cutting edge reggae or ska.
Indie Voice Blog is proud to recognize the talent of Spiritual Rez and to highly recommend you immediately grab yourself a copy of Setting in the West as soon as it becomes available on October 7.