Having reformed in 2013, it hasn’t taken Capital Letters long to get back into their stride and 2015 sees them embarking on a series of European live dates reminiscent of their heyday in the late seventies and early eighties when they were the unofficial UK reggae ambassadors to Europe, constantly touring throughout the Continent.

To coincide with the start of these dates, Sugar Shack Records will be releasing the first all new Capital Letters album in thirty years. The band have spent much of the summer in the studio of Noel Browne, Noel only recently relocated to the UK and built his new studio. He’s a former Studio One Band, Taxi Gang and Maytals keyboard player who is perhaps better known as the man behind New Name Music, the studio he set up in 1987 where he was to achieve success with Luciano, Mikey Spice and Jack Radics amongst many, before building Big Ship Recording Studios in 1995 where he worked with Freddie McGregor, The Wailing Souls, Papa San and numerous others. Utilising Noel Browne’s engineering skills, the band recorded 14 songs which were then passed into the safe hands of regular Sugar Shack collaborator Dave ‘Oldwah’ Sandford for final mixing.

The album kicks off with a trio of classic roots tracks, “Jah Music”, a highlight of their live shows, “Wolf” as recently released in a remix form on a Sugar Shack 12” and “Roots Music”. Just when you think the pattern is set, the band turn things around and with a novel approach they continue with a mainly roots themed set, but in a case of an iron fist inside a velvet glove, hard hitting roots messages are underpinned by often upbeat backing. The songs; “Place On Earth”, “Dat Nah Stop”, “False Natty”, “Tell Me What’s Wrong” and “Opportunity” all contain strong messages that may be missed on casual listening with their deceptive, almost too upbeat backing tracks, an unusual approach that shows just how confident and skilled the band are.

It’s not all politics and preaching. One of the songs is a heartfelt tribute to the band’s home town, Wolverhampton in the British Midlands. It was obvious that with Capital Letters strong ties to the City, this was the perfect track to name the album after and so “Wolverhampton” is the album title and will no doubt have more than a few of the band’s overseas fans checking their atlases. A perfect companion piece to “Wolverhampton” is the track “Jamaica” which paints a charming child’s eye picture of the huge changes and culture shock encountered by the children who arrived in Britain to join the windrush generation during the fifties and sixties.

Co vocalist Lukas doesn’t forget his past as a Lovers Rock artist and we are treated to a solitary love song with “Movie Star”. Lukas puts in such a consummate performance, it makes one hope the band will record more material along similar lines in future.
Capital letters are a band at the top of their game; they have maturity, confidence and musicianship to spare. This is a deceptive album, the more you listen the more it reveals the depth of quality within, good on first listen it grows in stature and really rewards repeated plays.

“Wolverhampton” is released by Sugar Shack records on 23rd March 2015 as a digital download and compact disc available from all leading sites and retailers, there will also be a limited edition vinyl album containing the first five tracks along with their accompanying dub mixes.

Tour Dates so far confirmed:

March 20th: Capital Letters at La Grange à Musique ( Creil, 16 Boulevard Salvador Allende 60100, France)

March 21st : Capital Letters at De Warande ( Warandestraat 42, 2300 Turnhout, Belgium)

April 2nd: Capital Letters at Le Hangar ( 3-5 Rue Raspail, 94200 Ivry sur Seine, Nr Paris, France)

April 3rd : Capital Letters at Canal 93, 63 avenue Jean Jaures, 93000 Bobigny, France)

April 4th Capital Letters at “In Dread We Trust Festival”, Cluses 74300, France)

More dates to follow

ARTIST: Capital Letters
TITLE: “Wolverhampton”
RELEASE DATE: 23rd March 2015
LABEL: Sugar Shack Records
DISTRIBUTION: Shellshock / SRD
FORMAT: Limited Edition Vinyl, CD and Digital Download
CAT NO: FOD106V / FOD106CD
BARCODE: 5052571059111 / 5052571059128
GENRE: Reggae, Dub
WEBSITE: www.sugarshackrecords.co.uk
PRESS CONTACT: Mike Darby, E: mdarby@sugarshackrecords.co.uk / T: 07885 498 402

From the opening moments of I Believe there’s one thing clear, this is some seriously funky and groovy reggae style stuff, offering up a chilled out and laid back beat which is going to accompany a sunny afternoon to perfection. Despite the chilled out tones of the track, there’s also a serious message coming across through the lyrical content, keeping you listening to what’s going on and engaging with the band throughout. Pompous Way continues this approach, once again building the track around the elements you’d expect from a reggae track whilst still managing to keep that serious message flowing out of the track. I love the political side to reggae music as I’ve always felt it creates a contrast within the music, almost as a form of peaceful protest against society as it stands. ‘If It No Broke, No Fix It’ echoes out across the track as the key message here, and something which applies to the style of music in question at the same time, showing that when you’re dealing with class, just let the music do the talking for you – and they’ve done it well.

Long Long Ago presents us with a more upbeat approach to things, immediately getting you swaying from the word go and creating a sense of movement throughout the track. Whilst it’s clichéd to say it, this is a track which is going to bring back images of sunshine, white beaches and all things summer. Despite these immediate images in your mind, you’ve got to appreciate the story being told through the track, talking about a time gone by in rural Jamaica and transporting you there to show you what it was like. It’s funny how people always talk about the power of music to take you to a different place, and what you’ve got here is a band who are doing just that with the record, taking you to their place and showing you what life was like and why their views are what they are. Returning to the more serious message, Militancy once again brings back the power of the music as a political tool and shows that reggaes roots are indeed still as firmly rooted as they’ve always been. Layered with simple yet effective guitar lines, deep and meaningful lyrics and that signature slow drum beat, this is another head nodding and mood evoking track which is going to secure these guys a slot as being firmly back on the scene.

Progressing through the tracks through Earth Lan, I Am Flying, Slavery, Oh Mama Africa and Hide Out, each track presents us with that signature reggae approach whilst each time presenting a different view point or perspective, showing that whilst some may perceive reggae as a simple sound, it’s way more complex than first meets the eye. On The Ground comes around as a serious high point on the record, standing out as a track which is going to allow the band to reach an audience that might not usually listen to reggae, presenting a sound which is once again upbeat, full of dance beat tempos and a calm inducing backing melody, all the elements combining to form a track which personally, I’ve listened to repeatedly since getting hold of the album.

Call Me Out, No Fee, Struggle, Landscape and Without Direction each continue to lead you through the album, each time presenting more bass heavy reggae rhythms and layered vocals, forming a melodic and rhythmic sound which is impossible to resist and allowing you the time to simply take in what’s going on here rather than forcing you into doing anything. The laid back brass tones of the reggae sound echo out across the mix, adding depth to the sound and forming a mix which will sooth the mood of anyone who listens, immediately brightening up the mood of all who hear it.

Another serious highpoint on the album is Capitalism, another track which is packed with a message we can’t afford to ignore, showing that there are bands out there who aren’t afraid to comment on the state of society and write music about it. Yes there is a political message but the laid back approach of getting it out there means you don’t feel it’s forced upon you, allowing you to listen to the message, make up your own mind and go from there. The same can be said for the closing moments of Come And Sing, closing the album with a track which leaves things on a high note and your mood in the best possible state. Once again offering up some soft beats, slow tempo reggae beats and jams, the final track on this album asks you to forget the divide in society, and simply join in with the band to sing and enjoy (or that’s what I took from it anyway!). The final track seems to epitomise the band to me, showing that there’s no need to be aggressive or kick off about things, but that simply creating music which sooths and passes on a message is enough.

I didn’t know what I was going to think when Black Roots were first sent through to us, but I’ve loved this album from start to finish. 17 tracks is a hefty album to cover, and sometimes I would struggle to work through each of them – but with this one it was enjoyable listening to every single one on the record. Is this music that’s going to change the world, I don’t know. What I do know though is that this is an album which is going to appeal to existing reggae fans and convert new fans to the band, offering you an album which is going to chill you out, make you think, but most of all, enjoy.

To find out more about Black Roots, check out their Facebook page HERE.

Words: Dave Nicholls

http://www.loud-stuff.com/black-roots.html

Black Roots headline The Harbourside Festival this coming Saturday the 21st July – on stage 9pm

Track listing for the CD is as follows:
1. I Believe
2. Pompous Way
3. Long Long Ago
4. Militancy
5. Earth Land
6. I Am flying
7. Slavery
8. Oh Mama Africa
9. Hide out
10. On The Ground
11. Call Me Out
12. No Fee
13. Struggle
14. Landscape
15. Without Direction
16. Capitalism
17. Come and Sing

Recorded in Bristol in April at J & J Studios
Produced by Black Roots and Mixed by Loius Becket

More news soon