Every month, Wellington City Libraries acquires new CD’s for its large, broad, eclectic collection, and Wellington music is no exception. We regularly inspect local music websites, trawl music vendors latest releases and check out independent labels like Flying Nun, Arch Hill, Rattle and Lil’ Chief for the latest in Wellington and New Zealand music. So, with this influx of mint music in mind, every two months we’ll provide the latest titles and artists added to our Wellington music collection…
Citizen.
Veteran reggae-roots-funk-dub act launch this new album on the back of their performance at this years WOMAD festival.
After two previous albums, 2001’s True & 2004’s Home, land & sea the band called it a day. Singer Warren Maxwell went on to helm Little Bushman, drummer Riki Gooch formed Eru Dangerspiel, & bassist Rio Hunuki-Hemopo worked with Breaks Co-Op. The band reformed in 2010 for some one-off concerts & the release of a live compilation drawn from their 2005 farewell concert, along with a career spanning doco. The possibility of a new album had always been in the air, and ‘Citizen’ is the culmination of 3 years worth of writing & recording. As singer Warren Maxwell explained in a recent Herald piece on the band reforming, the new sound pulls in a more diverse musical spectrum, influenced by the other band projects & musical influences that have crept in in the decade since ‘Home, land & sea’. James Illingworth’s piano is a standout on the title track of the new album, as is Tami Neilson’s vocal contribution on ‘Village Man’ and new drummer Ben Wood brings a wide palette of styles to the drum chair. The song-writing also shows a stronger political influence than before, with Maxwell addressing NZs growing financial divide & ruminating on what kind of world his daughter will inherit. This may not be what some fans expect but it’s one of those albums whose subtle layers unfold over numerous listens.
TrinityRoots will be heading to Wellington’s San Fran in June, check out the details here.
Warren talked to RNZ on the Trinity Roots comeback & new single ‘Haiku’ back in 2014..
Nick Bollinger weighs in on the new 2015 album & the changes to the Trinity Roots sound in the decade since their last album…
A brief promo of the band’s recent WOMAD performance…
‘Home, land & sea’ WOMAD, 2011
Check out some of their earlier albums on Bandcamp…
Picture sourced from Trinity Roots Facebook Events/’Citizen’ album tour