GreenTaRA Music For A Mixed Nation

With a sound drawing on soul, acid jazz jam band stylings and hip-hop with a penchant for social awareness, Vancouver’s GreenTaRA comes through as a versatile creative force on this impressive release. Having already cultivated a loyal and dedicated following including parts of Europe and being in a couple of bands, GreenTaRA’s experience is clearly exhibited in the strong songwriting demonstrated. There’s a uniform feel to the record, with GreenTaRA’s ever-present acoustic guitar supplemented by a small circle of live musicians as well as the appearances of Triple 3 crew members, vocalist Deanna and she of the mesmerising flow, MC Ndidi Cascade. With this strong foundation in place, the resistance to propaganda on "The Cycle” and the steely resolution on "Babylon Bye Bye” come to the fore, but don’t sacrifice the groove or become too didactic. There’s an innate intimacy that comes across in GreenTaRA’s personal politics; whether she’s singing or slipping into her occasionally rhymed verses, her willingness to address her own internal issues ("Sexual Reality”) or encouraging self worth ("Deadly ‘Til You Die”) all come across so genuinely, it’s pointless to be cynical listening to such refreshingly executed music. (GreenTaRA Music/Easy Bake)