Finally ‘Upon the Bridge’ has landed. The vintage sounds of the exceptional Groundation have been storming the reggae underground for several years now, keeping alive the huge surge in American roots reggae.

There has been much anticipation surrounding this latest release, especially after ‘Hebron Gate’ and ‘We Free Again’. Unfortunately ‘Upon the Bridge’ doesn’t quite hit the extraordinary heights of the afore mentioned releases. You could almost be forgiven for saying it has a feeling of repetitiveness, monotony even, compared to previous efforts. However fear not, this still remains an outstanding piece of work which is rarely sluggish and never dull.

‘Upon the Bridge’ gets better with each listen. Relax and let it sink in and you’ll notice the subtle layers of the music, the intelligent song constructions and symbolic, intense, fable-like lyrics of the ever present rasping voice of Harrison Stafford. This album has a very serious tone with some sombre down-tempo tracks. ‘None Believes’ is a classic example, deep, sparse yet extremely potent. It’s hard to choose individual tracks due to the level of consistency that the album commands. However ‘Upon the Bridge’ stands out for me; it rides a real funky style bass-line accompanied by some sparse, yet wonderful Nyabinghi drumming and some exciting guitar playing.

As with previous releases the musicianship is first rate, you’ll find some quality instrumental breaks. Check the brass on ‘Use to Laugh’; the band slide from reggae to jazz in an effortless ebb and flow creating a jamming feel to the music.

We’re also treated to an appearance from two reggae greats. Pablo Moses leads on the lively roots killa ‘Fight All You Can’ and the majestic Ijahman Levi lends his unmistakable vocal style to the impressive, heavy roots cut ‘Sleeping Bag-O-Wire’

Included with ‘Upon the Bridge’ you’ll find sleeve notes that tell a tale which acts as a companion to the actual album, this further increases the mystic characteristics of the ‘Groundation’ sound.

As with all Groundation albums ‘Upon the Bridge’ is serious, moody yet conscious roots music, expertly played and produced. You just have to give this one a little time to grow.

Review by JumpUp

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