Zion Train – State of Mind
Reviewed by Sadie O., 1/14/12
Roots Reggae Dub. Zion Train is producer Neil Perch from the UK, who uses lots of horns and strong beats, and always does a great job of blending Roots Reggae with modern electronics and concepts. Lots of interesting elements to sink into. Ear candy!
1. 3:40 ****slow horns with wah-wah effects, then forceful and bouncy downtempo dub skank instrumental.
2. 3:41 ****relaxed and swingy dub bubble, sweet vocals.
3. 3:05 **ethereal electronics and tweets, downtempo and relaxed dub instrumental, pretty plinky guitar.
4. 4:13 ****echo-laden spoken word intro, forceful dub skank with bits of toasting, lots of echo.
5. 4:13 ****jolly little march of crippled squirrels (farty ones, at that). Really fun sound – instrumental.
6. 3:34 ****space invader noises intro, then very uptempo syncopated skank with lots of electronics. Instrumental, also lots of fun.
7. 4:09 ***ethereal yet vaguely menacing electronics, midtempo deeply dubby bubble, female toast (always a nice change!) Nice violin solo…
8. 4:48 ***plinky guitar and violin intro, uptempo one-drop with horns, violin and blatty stuff.
9. 3:25 **mellow horn fanfare, uptempo club beat (somewhere between jungle and ska) with sweet violin floating over the electronic beat.
10. 4:02 ****bit of thick Rasta preaching, then bouncy but relaxed midtempo bubble. Nice Nyahbinghi drum and bass. Garbled yet alarming bit of spoken word about pharmaceuticals in middle…
11. 3:51 ****blatty bass-end electronics, uptempo club/ska with bits of toasting and a bit of circus vibe. There’s something going on with the tune of “Paint It Black”…
12. 3:56 *pulses and space invaders.. Horns and violins come in an float around, but it remains dreamy and slow.