Album Review: Jah Sun & The Rising Tide bring positivity and healing in their 2021 album "Running Through Walls"

Photo courtesy of AMT Entertainment.

Humanity has experienced an intensified series of obstacles during 2020 and 2021, and in turn, it has made most of us at some point feel like we're "Running Through Walls". This is why Daily Reggae is grateful for incredible musicians like Jah Sun & The Rising Tide for taking these times in stride and putting out fantastic music to brighten our spirits! The group's new album is filled with uplifting rhythms and exceptional songwriting and has brightened our days more than once.

Jah Sun has established himself over a long and successful career as an artist promoting healing through a fusion of reggae, world, and hip hop music. His first introduction to music was through his stepfather Jack Bailey, a rapper ingrained in the early breakdancing movement. Jah Sun began his music career in this scene as a breakdancer and rapper, making a name for himself in the Freestyle rap community. After being introduced to Bob Marley's "Time Will Tell", his style began to evolve as he fell in love with the music and message ingrained in Marley's artistry. Years of amazing releases and shows followed, all leading up to the release of "Running Through Walls" with the talented members of The Rising Tide.

The musical tone of this new album is bright and uplifting, with wonderful reggae rhythms throughout and melodic decisions invoking a break in the clouds allowing the sun to shine through. Bassist Beau “Arrow” Sheppard and drummer Nick “Kirbz” Kirby are heavily locked in with one another, and the musical sensibilities of guitarist Tony Thompson, keyboardist Lexington Mainard, and multi-instrumentalist Omar "Jallanzo" Johnson work together to achieve the album's beautiful sound.

"Running Through Walls" kicks off with the track "No Profit in Peace". Tasteful leads courtesy of Thompson trade-off with catchy horn lines during the song's introduction, and are a great foreshadowing of the sound The Rising Tide accomplishes on this record. Jah Sun promotes his message of global healing through the lyrics of "No Profit In Peace", touching on the consequences of war and the greed and ill will that create such situations. The dichotomy of heavy lyricism and uplifting instrumentation allows for the social commentary through the perspective of hope and love that reggae is so excellent at accomplishing.

Of all the songs on "Running Through Walls", the hit "Rock Paper Scissors" has had the largest impact on audiences. The tempo, chord progression, and production choices work together perfectly and instantly put us in a better mood. The songwriting quality on this tune is stellar. Jah Sun explains, “The song title and lyrics throughout are a fun play on words to what would otherwise be a sad love story. We’ve all had someone play with our heart – and it especially hurts when we’ve fallen for them. Rock Paper Scissors is that song, but with our positive, feel good spin on it. It takes the pain of love and turns it into a playful song with clever lyrics. The music takes the mind off the pain and lets it heal as the body grooves to the music. It’s special because it will help people get past heartbreak and who knows – find someone new to vibe with!”. Having someone "play love games" with your heart is a universal human experience to everyone at some point in their lives, and "Rock Paper Scissors" reminds us that when it happens to us we are not alone in having such feelings, and it's time to move on to something more genuine.

The last song we'd like to highlight is the dreamy love track "Stuck With You". A smart but minimal acoustic chord progression paired with spacious synths drive the beat of the track, and the rhythm section brings a driving energy underneath. Jah Sun lyrically begins with the words, "There's no past that I long for, no future that I crave; No words that I'm scared of, I don't need no better days; This is perfect, every moment; Perfect." Leading up to the refrain, "If I can only be one thing, let me be stuck with you."

The love in these lyrics is genuine and sincere. For those of us in loving relationships during the pandemic, "Stuck With You" is very relatable. With the chaos of the world outside, being stuck inside with someone you love is the greatest blessing.

We've been jamming this album nonstop and are excited for what Jah Sun and The Rising Tide will create next!

To check out more of the group's music and to learn about upcoming shows go to www.jahsuntrt.com

By Chris Lawrie.