Nico D & Amiral P - To the world

I just can't stop being amazed at how international our bellowed genre has become, nowadays you can find great acts from virtually every country on earth. Ad Norway to this list, it's the neighbor country to Sweden (where im from) and if my country has a small scene i would say Norway has an even smaller one. I have relatives there and iv'e visited a few times in the late 80ies so it shouldn't feel to exotic but a Reggae album from there still is. I guess this album would fall under the category "modern roots/dancehall".

I would definetly say this duo pulls some punches on this release, it's a quality production, very current but firmly rooted in the long tradition of of rootsreggae. They seem to be a bit heavy into "autotune" but distort the voices very lightly so it does not distract. First up is "Eyes wide open" an open call to all in the struggle to keep things positive no matter how hard things seem. It's done over a very smooth backing track, a very high qualty production and a great start to the album. Im impressed so far and the second song, "Woman of creation" does not let me down either. It's an ode to all positive women and a sorta mix between a roots and a lovers song with some great chanting and singing over another great production. Track 5, "Say it ain't so" is an realy amazing love song with a very rootsy feel to it and with a great trumpet (or trombone) melody loop in it.
If my sources are correct song 6, "Spinnvill" done in Norwegian was quite a hit and has quite an retro vibe to it, kinda like a "Peckings" production or something like that. Im a huge fan of these retro tracks with a modern twist and this is a great song, i wanna hear more songs like this from "Nico D & Admiral P". As far as lyrical content it's an love-song and im much pleased that i actually understand most of it. Right up after it is the "English" version of the same song, "Woman of my dreams", also great. The local vibes continue on "idiot" who is also in Norwegian, im surprised at how good it sounds as i think Rap in Norwegian often sounds kinda funny.

While not being retro i would say that "Handle the pressure" is another great song, rootsy and uplifting with a minor melancholic vibe to it. The heat continues on next song "Neva grow" who delivers more outstanding modern roots with an uplifting message of standing strong and resist the pressures of Babylon. It ends with "Mama", an typical ode to their Moms whit the usual thanks and praises. There's nothing wrong with the song but it feels a bit too formulaic. Still, let's not end this review being too negative cause i really liked this album and was amazed at how great Norwegian Reggae sounds. It may not be the most original group ever, there are other artists who sounds similar but who cares? This sounds very good and polished, kinda in the same style as artists like Norrisman, Jah Mason or Gappy Ranks. Well worth looking up, i look forward to more releases.