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<p>By Jo-Ann Greene - April 2007 (www.allmusic.com)</p> <p>One-drop rhythms are flooding back into fashion in the dancehalls, while consciousness continues its inexorable rise, so few bands should be better placed to be swept up in the cultural wave's crest than Bambú Station. Unfortunately, the group hail from the wrong Caribbean island, the Virgin ones, not Jamaica, otherwise they'd already be hailed as the new Wailers.</p> <p>So Station may have their work cut out for them, but there's no doubt they're up to the challenge, brimming as they are with self-confidence and a determination to deliver their message and music to the world. Working out of their own studio, this self- contained unit writes, records, mixes, produces and releases their own exceptional material; and in that respect Bambú are actually closer in spirit to the early British roots reggae scene, than the Jamaican.</p> <p>They too have been inspired by the originators, even as other influences have left their mark, giving the group a unique roots style. If one needs a comparison, very early Steel Pulse springs to mind, there's the same laid-back atmospheres and bubbly rhythms, counter-pointed by tough themes and extremely sharp, resonating lyrics.</p> <p>Opening with a sobering look at the divided and diseased state of the world and closing with a lesson in righteous life that emphasizes the importance of the individual, One Day offers critiques on virtually every subject worthy of attention. Violence, war, the divisions the drive them both, man's responsibilities, forgiveness and correspondingly lack of mercy, religion and politics all inform Jalani Horton's astute and insightful lyrics, which continually give new impetus to these much discussed issues.</p> <p>Along the way, there's a lovely homage to Malcolm X's widow Betty Shabazz that doubles as a call for female dignity, and a powerful, heartfelt tribute to Amadou Diallo, the innocent immigrant who died in a hail of police bullets in New York City.</p> <p>It's easy to lose one's self In Horton's impassioned performance and words, but his bandmates are just as worthy of note, creating blissful backings that effortlessly bubble along behind him. The heavy-hitting "Gunsmoke" evokes all the power of Steel Pulse's classic "Handsworth Revolution", "Pass It" captures all the incendiary fire of the roots rockers age, while the haunting "One Day" hints at The Specials at their moodiest. But these are merely points of reference, numbers like the anthemic "Fire" and the mesmerizing "Move On" confound any easy comparisons, bringing the glory of the roots age into modern times. This is a fabulous album that demands a place of pride in every cultural fan's collection.</p>

<p>(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Bambú Station, the dynamic roots reggae band from the Virgin Islands, was recently featured on Reggae-Reviews.com (www.reggae-reviews.com). To view the source article and read previous reviews of Bambú Station and other outstanding reggae music across the world, click: http://www.reggae-reviews.com/Bambústation.html." "Every situation is a chance to grow," sings Jalani Horton. The first four songs on "Break the Soil" make it clear that Bambú Station has grown more experimental and eclectic since its classic album One Day. "Brotherhood" is straight-ahead roots in the classic Bambú Station style, but "Beloved People," with its meditative flute intro, heralds new musical directions. The next track, "I Rememba," has a jazzy groove that is more playful and breezy than the somber tones we have come to expect from Bambú Station. "Sense Enemy" recalls 1970s-era roots, but with a modern twist, as Horton's vocals provide counterpoint against powerful spoken-word poetry. The remainder of the album continues to expand the band's sound. "Chance to Grow" features lead vocals from Reemah, who sweetens the song with her sugary voice. "Who? (Litany of Liars)" may be the best song on the album. It is a stunning combination of deep roots rhythms and delicate harmonies. "Bird's I View" features more airy jazz and Tuff Lion's gorgeous guitar playing. Break the Soil is another masterpiece from Bambú Station. Every track sparkles. The music is more expansive and more richly-textured than on One Day, with no drop off in quality or consistency. Simply put, this album is massive, and not to be missed."</P>

<p>UK Reggae Guide</p> <p>By Steve ‘Jump Up’</p> <p>For those of you who know Bambú Station you don’t need me to tell you how impressive their previous release, ‘One Day’ was. This time around it's clear that the band have grown and developed their style further. ‘Break The Soil’ is eclectic, experimental, spiritual and simply outstanding.</p> <p>The album opens with a bright, up-lifting classic roots vibe entitled ‘Brotherhood’, which instantly makes you sit up and listen with more than simple interest. ‘Beloved People’ follows and opens with a haunting flute solo, which proclaims an experimental direction for Bambú Station and their music, which is further highlighted in the next track ‘I Rememba’. This is a jazz influenced number, which is cheerful and positive, with wonderful piano and brass playing. A commanding track follows entitled ‘Sense Enemy’, down-beat, sparse yet potent, utilizing spoken-word to send a powerful message. The glorious voice of empress Reemah leads the track ‘Chance to Grow’, a beautifully crafted song with perceptive lyrics, I especially like the line ‘every situation is a chance to grow; every sunrise is a chance to sow’.</p> <p>Skipping ahead a few tracks to one of my favourites. ‘Sing Upright’ is a call to arms to all singers and players of instruments to act responsibly and chant down the badness and bling culture that surrounds much of black music. This is a down-tempo cut with lyrics fired out across a heavy riddim - simply outstanding.</p> <p>‘Break The Soil’ is proof that modern roots music is alive and very well indeed. The music is rich and beautifully layered. The lyrics are attentive and the overall quality doesn’t drop from the top ‘till the very last drop! Highly recommended.</p>

<p>Jahworks Magazine</p> <p>By Ted "The Boot" Boothroyd – January 2007</p> <p>What you may wonder about "Break The Soil" is whether Bambú Station breaks new ground. Well, no, they don't; this album comes from the same piece of mother earth as "One Day," their first outing. That is to say it is roots reggae of a particularly deep and fertile kind, featuring the fine musicianship and production genius of Jalani Horton, Tuff Lion, Andy Llanos and the rest of the Mt. Nebo crew. It even boasts the predictably handsome design work of Mark "Feijao" Milligan II. So it's not remarkably different, just remarkably good.</p> <p>There are 14 tracks, numbered 0 to 13 (perhaps that first cut, titled "Brotherhood" is so basic a concept that it is a kind of ground zero for the album), totaling a generous 72 minutes. The rhythms create a strong and unyielding groove around which the songs are built with detailed attention to the production values. As you may expect if you've heard the earlier album, the lyrics are more important than the melodies. Mind you, there are sufficient hooks, usually in the choruses, to keep a listener interested, but most of the tunes won't keep you singing long in the shower. They do the job, but with a few exceptions, they're not truly hummable. So it may be just as well that lead vocalist Horton inclines to a semi-chant style of singing.</p> <p>Which brings us to the words being semi-chanted. The Bambú Station lyricists are distressed by the world situation and broad elements of Western society as well as by certain evils closer to home, but are not content merely to pass judgment and condemn. They want to find a balanced, ethical response to what's going on. Therefore the lyrics keep moving from the communal to the personal and back again, exploring our role in the world and the responsibility we each have to do something about this mess. "Every situation is a chance to grow/And every sunrise another chance to sow/With our hands in soil, we making furrow/Examine what you know." Naturally enough, we also get the Rastafarian conviction that spirituality is a big part of the answer. As for album highlights, I'd pick the two that the label itself was initially promoting for radio play. "Chance to Grow" has a good tune (yes!), strong lyrics that smack of truth, and a soulful vocal by Reemah Vanterpool, who trades leads back and forth with Horton. "Who?" features high harmony singers in the back crooning who-oo-oo inna doowop style while the lead singer spits out phrases condemning the "litany of liars," which among other wrongs has colored the language with negative connotations of the word "black" - black market, black sheep, black-listed, blackmail, and so on. It's a well-argued diatribe.</p> <p>As should be obvious by now, "Break the Soil" continues the commitment to high quality reggae we have come to expect from the Virgin Islands, and from Mt. Nebo in particular. If you haven't harvested any of it yet, breaking the soil with this disc would be a great way to start.</p>

<p>Who doesn't adore this band? For a decade now the Virgin Island based Bambú Station has been pumping out uplifting reggae music for the massive, garnering a world wide following in the process. Break the Soil is the group's fifth full-length, and a splendid one at that, book-ended by a pair of superb unity numbers,"Brotherhood", which opens the set in prime Bambú fashion and "Injoy", which closes it in classic roots reggae style. Both showcase Jalani Horton, the band's lead singer/lyricist, who is not just one of the best composers on today's scene, but one of the most literate, thoughtful, and thought-provoking period. His messages are clear, concise, extremely well reasoned, and inevitably persuasive. Horton’s incredibly fresh takes on the well-worn unity theme is impressive, but "New World Order" is awesome, an absolutely inspired dissection of the war on terror and the terrorism that provoked it. Equally heavy hitting is "Who (Litany of Liars)" revolving around colonialism past and present, while "Sing Upright" makes it personal, chiding those reggae stars who would sell their mothers to get on MTV. "Chance to Grow" connects the two, bemoaning the loss of indigenous culture and the rise of ignorance that helps lead the youth astray, whilst counseling a better way, the latter further expostulated on "Sense Enemy”. Babies having babies, women who need to learn self-respect, those who talk a good game, but whose actions consistently defy their words, all receive lessons from Bambú's life coach. Of course, Jah is praised many times over, His munificence noted with thanks, and the path He wishes us to walk beautifully illuminated. On "I Rememba", Horton recalls his happy childhood and the life lessons imparted by his much adored Granny, who so obviously laid the foundation for the man he has become. This lovely number, moves Bambú into new, jazz-flecked territory, just one of a number of excursions into new musical lands the band undertakes. An airy flute haunts the intro to "Beloved People", "Enemy" is stripped to the musical bone, guesting Reemah stamps her imprimatur on "Grow," sweet harmonies echo across "Liars," classic brass-splashed roots send "Bird's I View" flying, soul licks round I Sing Prayses", a hint of funk flickers round "Brotherhood", while Tuff Lion's fabulously versatile guitar is evident across the set. Break the Soil? surely the band did that long ago, the musical seed, too, was already planted, and with this album the group has now flowered into full magnificence."</P>

  <p>What you may wonder about "Break The Soil" is whether Bambú Station breaks new ground. Well, no, they don't; this album comes from the same piece of mother earth as "One Day," their first outing. That is to say it is roots reggae of a particularly deep and fertile kind, featuring the fine musicianship and production genius of Jalani Horton, Tuff Lion, Andy Llanos and the rest of the Mt. Nebo crew. It even boasts the predictably handsome design work of Mark "Feijao" Milligan II. So it's not remarkably different, just remarkably good.</p> <p>There are 14 tracks, numbered 0 to 13 (perhaps that first cut, titled "Brotherhood" is so basic a concept that it is a kind of ground zero for the album), totaling a generous 72 minutes. The rhythms create a strong and unyielding groove around which the songs are built with detailed attention to the production values. As you may expect if you've heard the earlier album, the lyrics are more important than the melodies. Mind you, there are sufficient hooks, usually in the choruses, to keep a listener interested, but most of the tunes won't keep you singing long in the shower. They do the job, but with a few exceptions, they're not truly hummable. So it may be just as well that lead vocalist Horton inclines to a semi-chant style of singing.</p> <p>Which brings us to the words being semi-chanted. The Bambú Station lyricists are distressed by the world situation and broad elements of Western society as well as by certain evils closer to home, but are not content merely to pass judgment and condemn. They want to find a balanced, ethical response to what's going on. Therefore the lyrics keep moving from the communal to the personal and back again, exploring our role in the world and the responsibility we each have to do something about this mess. "Every situation is a chance to grow/And every sunrise another chance to sow/With our hands in soil, we making furrow/Examine what you know." Naturally enough, we also get the Rastafarian conviction that spirituality is a big part of the answer. As for album highlights, I'd pick the two that the label itself was initially promoting for radio play. "Chance to Grow" has a good tune (yes!), strong lyrics that smack of truth, and a soulful vocal by Reemah Vanterpool, who trades leads back and forth with Horton. "Who?" features high harmony singers in the back crooning who-oo-oo inna doowop style while the lead singer spits out phrases condemning the "litany of liars," which among other wrongs has colored the language with negative connotations of the word "black" - black market, black sheep, black-listed, blackmail, and so on. It's a well-argued diatribe.</p> <p>As should be obvious by now, "Break the Soil" continues the commitment to high quality reggae we have come to expect from the Virgin Islands, and from Mt. Nebo in particular. If you haven't harvested any of it yet, breaking the soil with this disc would be a great way to start.</p>

<p>Bambú Station Gets 5 Star Rating</p> <p>By Reggie - Reggae-Reviews.com / October 2006</p> <p>(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Bambú Station, the dynamic roots reggae band from the Virgin Islands, was recently featured on Reggae-Reviews.com (www.reggae-reviews.com). To view the source article and read previous reviews of Bambú Station and other outstanding reggae music across the world, click: http://www.reggae-reviews.com/Bambústation.html. " "Every situation is a chance to grow," sings Jalani Horton. The first four songs on "Break the Soil" make it clear that Bambú Station has grown more experimental and eclectic since its classic album One Day. "Brotherhood" is straight-ahead roots in the classic Bambú Station style, but "Beloved People," with its meditative flute intro, heralds new musical directions. The next track, "I Rememba," has a jazzy groove that is more playful and breezy than the somber tones we have come to expect from Bambú Station. "Sense Enemy" recalls 1970s-era roots, but with a modern twist, as Horton's vocals provide counterpoint against powerful spoken-word poetry. The remainder of the album continues to expand the band's sound. "Chance to Grow" features lead vocals from Reemah, who sweetens the song with her sugary voice. "Who? (Litany of Liars)" may be the best song on the album. It is a stunning combination of deep roots rhythms and delicate harmonies. "Bird's I View" features more airy jazz and Tuff Lion's gorgeous guitar playing. Break the Soil is another masterpiece from Bambú Station. Every track sparkles. The music is more expansive and more richly-textured than on One Day, with no drop off in quality or consistency. Simply put, this album is massive, and not to be missed."</p> <p>-Reggie</p>