Album Review: Having roots deep in Santa Cruz soil, Pacific Roots is "Still Standing" taller than ever with their brand new album!
Photo courtesy of Pacific Roots.
Northern California has long been a haven and birthing place of American Reggae, Ska, and Punk. With a strong lineage of artists ranging from early ska-punk pioneers like Operation Ivy and Eric Rachmany of Rebelution, to being the current home base of Stick Figure and the legendary Cali Roots festival; there is something in the NorCal soil that continues to cultivate great music.
On the coast of California south of San Francisco and north of Cali Roots location Monterey lies the beach town of Santa Cruz. The community has become well known for both its surf and stoner culture, both of which heavily influence the music coming out of the city. The legendary band The Expendables have been the global ambassadors for Santa Cruz's reggae/ska sound for the past couple of decades, finding a home in speakers of reggae fans around the world with their unique blend of reggae, ska, punk, and heavy Iron Maiden inspired guitar riffs. As we move into the year 2022 it is the talented and creative band Pacific Roots that is now making a name for themselves as the next Santa Cruz group to bring this brand of music to the reggae masses. The band has grown over the past few years from roots planted deep in the Northern California soil, and with their brand new album have made it known they are "Still Standing" taller than ever.
As an album "Still Standing" is able to cover a wide range of energy and musical moods while still keeping the listening experience consistent and very enjoyable.
The first track on the album is the ska-punk banger "Some Kinda Way". The song begins with an uptempo third wave ska rhythm with punchy horns, transitioning well into a downtempo verse. Following this is a chorus that takes on punk instrumentation with heavy distorted power chords. This up and down in tone between the sections of "Some Kinda Way" is a lot of fun to listen to and will have any ska-punker skanking in their living room or at the next Pacific Roots show.
The breezy love song "Take a Chance" showcases the more reggae side of Pacific Roots. The experience of the band members shines through on the instrumentation of this track. The rhythms of bassist Jake White keeps the song grooving heavy throughout. Vocalist Maximillian Masluk shows the clarity of his voice and his talent as a songwriter on this good vibes anthem about taking a chance on love.
Following "Take a Chance" is the jam "They Talkin". This vibing riddim is the kind of track you might hear in the distance at a music festival and will pull you directly to the stage it's coming from. Guitarists Derek Haynsworth and Matt Booher energize both the laidback reggae sections of "They Talkin" while also setting fire to their fretboards on the heavy rock bits of the song. It is not easy to have two talented guitarists playing together without stepping on each other's toes, but Derek and Matt have proved that they are able to execute together perfectly with every track on "Still Standing".
"Kooks on the Loose" is a perfect representation of who Pacific Roots are musically. The track builds from a reggae vibe to a ska-punk jam, all leading to a hard rock bridge that explodes from the speakers. Drummer A.J. Aguayo has played in bands of many genres, and showcases this experience with both his beat decisions in the early sections and his heavy metal-inspired fills and kick drum work in the final minute of "Kooks".
We look forward to watching Pacific Roots as they continue to grow, and after seeing them at Viva Iriezona we highly recommend checking them out in concert!
To find out more about the band and upcoming show dates go to www.pacificrootsmusic.com
"Take a Chance" is the Daily Reggae Song of the Day.
By Chris Lawrie.
