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Roots Manuva, once the father of grime, by now, in fairness, probably the wise, venerable grandfather, is back with his 8th studio LP, ‘4reveoloution’, following hot on the heels from last year’s ‘Duppy Writer’, which saw some of his best work to date worked over by DJ/producer, Wrong Tom.
Whilst his progenitors run amuck in a world made fit for habitation by Root’s work, some may wonder how just many of his several cuts above the rest Rodney Smith remains, seeing as it is now well over a decade since his verbal athletics muscled their way in to our conscience.
Indeed, fresh and exciting as Wrong Tom made the tracks on ‘Duppy Writer’ sound, there was no escaping the fact that some of vocal takes on the tracks he was working with are from a long way back now. Normally, when artists release retrospectives, even ones where every track is manifest in a totally new version, it signals a slowing of the creative process. In this case, however, it is Gigwise’s pleasure to announce a false alarm.
Opening track ‘First Growth’ sounds distinct from anything that’s gone before, whilst retaining some key Manuva traits. The staccato fuck/disco guitar and washy synths are so enjoyably straight, you half expect a kylie vocal to come in. Instead we get Roots in full force, with his trademark mixture of cross referenced images, anti-puns and stuff that just sounds cool. “Kepping it upward/Chainsaws ain’t for healers/I cut wood/And if I don’t see these/Woods for the trees/ Beg you pardon me” he intones, as only he can.
The track expresses concerns with the progression through life, and the next song picks up the thread. Aptly titled ‘Here We Go Again’, the music is weary, with waves of dubby sound that can barley bring themselves to oscillate, as if their sound system is slowly being drained of power. Over this bleak backing Roots talks about moving on ‘from childish things’ and the need to ‘re-motivate’.
Whilst the rest of the album shows Roots doing just that, continuing to move forward, ‘Skid Valley’, the albums most political song, observes a Britain were not much seems to change. A song that is depressingly on point, as it becomes increasingly clear that social mobility is no longer on the agenda.
However, most of the album is upbeat. Closer ‘Banana Skank’ will make you want to, well, skank, obviously. ‘Go Champ’ sounds exactly like the motivational pick me up suggested by its title. Then there’s ‘Beyond This World’, which should’ve been subtitled ‘Parquet’ for its ability to fill floors.
Other highlights include the ridiculously tender ‘Wha’ Mek?, full of lullaby melody, cute keyboards and a vocal about doing your best to please, even when nobody’s interested. ‘The Throes of It’ is the most musically interesting of all the beats here assembled, with insane electronics and random piano meanderings.
As the album is 17 tracks long, there are a fair few less memorable tracks, but none that you are going to feel compelled to skip over, a rare beast indeed.
