Herald rating: * * * * (for both)
KEY POINTS:
It sounds like reggae. It has the chinka-chink groove, the laid-back pulse and the key sentiments of peace, brotherhood, and unity. But the second album from Unity Pacific, the band fronted by Tigi Ness (also known as Che Fu's dad), gives new meaning to Bob Marley's immortal words "we're jammin' ".
At nine songs and 75-minutes long, Into the Dread is not a typical reggae record. On the shuddering and loping 15-minute title track we're definitely jammin', man, and thank Jah for the swirling smoky keys on Unity and the feel-good improvisation of the 10-minute Comes A Time.
The new album also contains a new and polished version of From Street To Sky, from Unity Pacific's debut. That first album focused on Ness' life experiences - from being unemployed (Got No Job) to his arrest during the 1981 Springbok tour protests (Red Squad). Into the Dread delves into his Rastafarian faith ("feeling irie, feeling fine, Rastafari all the time, there's rhythm in my soul, and I just can't let it go").
On A Poor Man (Saveth a City), with its breezy, uplifting groove, and Comes A Time's 70s star burst sounds, he's like the Prince Tui Teka of New Zealand reggae, without the cheeky jokes, of course.
Cornerstone Roots come skanking straight out of the small coastal Waikato town of Raglan but a glorious song like Freedom has a universal feel to it that applies just as much to kids at the local kohanga reo as it does to the Aborigines' plight in Australia.
The trio of Brian Ruawai (guitar/vocals), his wife Naomi Tuao (bass), and Boyd Dixon (drums) formed in 2001 after a jam session at the Raglan Musicians' Club. Two years later, with a number of guest musicians, they released debut Soul Revolution, a promising record, but like many debuts it lacked punch and penetration.
On follow up, Free Yourself, the band have done just that and while the solid reggae groove remains, it has a more diverse and self-assured sound.
A big score on the guest list is Jamaican roots reggae singer Luciano who added his soulful croon to Jah when he was here this year for the Raglan reggaefest.
Elsewhere, Forward Movement is soaked in soulful keys; Steppers is an echoing and ebbing instrumental track; and the highlight, Mankiller, is a simple reggae ditty that deals with a potent subject.
And yes, in typical Kiwi style, Home, the catchiest track, does have the barbecue reggae bounce of New Zealand acts like the Black Seeds, but Cornerstone Roots are more traditional and stripped back.
This isn't stylised roots rock reggae, this is the real thing and it's coming straight out of the tiny Raglan Town Hall for the whole world to hear.
Pull up a beer crate, brother.
Unity Pacific: Into the Dread
Label: EMI
Verdict: These dreads are long, natty and uniquely New Zealand
Cornerstone Roots: Free Yourself
Label: Motherland Collective
Verdict: A winter reggae album spreading righteousness and summer love
