29 Mar 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

Sola Rosa - Get It Together review

11 Apr 2009 // A review by lukefitzmaurice
There is something irresistibly funky about this album, and it hits you within seconds of pressing play. The opening track, The Ace of Space, has a kind of Ocean’s Eleven quality to it, and as I listened to the rest of the album I never really shook the feeling of being engrossed within a Las Vegas casino heist. Later in the piece I felt a little less Danny Ocean and a little more James Bond with tracks like All You Need and the aptly named Bond Is Back, and later still I felt as though I was in a South American jazz club sipping on cocktails as I listened to Del Ray. Needless to say, Get It Together is a very cool album, in every possible sense of the word.

However, whilst I found myself getting easily carried away with movie analogies, I must be quick to point out that this album has value well beyond simple soundtrack status. What truly sets Sola Rosa’s latest offering apart is the immense diversity it contains, and the way Andrew Spraggon manages to transition seamlessly between tracks influenced by jazz, funk, soul, hip hop, dub, and countless other genres. This may give the impression that the album lacks any flow and continuity, but somehow this is far from the case. Personally, I was not a big fan of the more hip-hop based tracks such as Love Alone and I’ve Tried Ways, but despite my hesitations I never really felt as though these tracks detracted from the album as whole.

For me, the crowning achievement of the album was the way strings and brass sections were dominant in so many tracks, a factor which probably contributed greatly to the James Bond feel to the album that I mentioned earlier. The soulful contributions by Iva Lamkum and Bajka were also highlights. To be honest my biggest disappointment was that this album wasn’t released in time for summer, as it would have made great listening on a sunny January afternoon. Its now mid-April, and for the most part the sun has disappeared, but the summery sound of Get It Together seems to be making a valiant attempt at bringing it back. One thing is for certain, Andrew Spraggon will never fail for lack of effort.
 

About Sola Rosa

Sola Rosa is one of Kiwi music’s most evolutionary and enduring acts.

With seven full-length albums, four EP's, a handful of hits, countless collaborations and numerous world tours, it’s been a 20-year labour of love for the man behind the music, Andrew Spraggon.

And although it’s punctuated with twists and turns in the form of constant change and innovation, one thing has remained the same – Spraggon’s steadfast commitment to making great albums that seamlessly blend a myriad of genres, from hip-hop and jazz, to neo-soul, latin and funk.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Sola Rosa

Releases

Chasing The Sun
Year: 2020
Type: Album
In Spaces
Year: 2018
Type: EP
Magnetics
Year: 2014
Type: Album
Solarized (Refreshed)
Year: 2013
Type: Album
Low And Behold, High And Beyond
Year: 2012
Type: Album
Get It Together - The Remixes
Year: 2010
Type: Album
Get It Together
Year: 2009
Type: Album
Moves On
Year: 2005
Type: Album
Haunted Out Takes
Year: 2003
Type: Album
The Ready Now EP
Year: 2003
Type: EP
Solarized
Year: 2001
Type: Album
Entrance To Skyway
Year: 2001
Type: EP

Other Reviews By lukefitzmaurice

Urbantramper - Urban Tramper - 'Rise & Ride Toward' album review
05 Dec 2009 // by lukefitzmaurice
Ok, I’ll admit, before I listened to this album, I had never really heard of Urban Tramper. Their name rang vague bells in the back of my mind, perhaps I’d heard snippets on the radio or seen a poster in the street somewhere, but if you’d played me one of their older songs I probably wouldn’t have recognised it.
Read More...
Diesel Phoenix - 'Here's Something We Prepared Earlier' album review
05 Dec 2009 // by lukefitzmaurice
'Here’s Something We Prepared Earlier' is the new album from Auckland five-piece Diesel Phoenix, a hard hitting record which throws together rock, punk, pop, and even a little bit of metal. The album opens with the eerie instrumental track 'Willard’s Run', a song which provides a haunting introduction to the rest of the album.
Read More...
Eru Dangerspiel - Great News For The Modern Man album review
21 Aug 2009 // by lukefitzmaurice
With any experiment, there are always going to be some things that work out great, and others that don’t really go down so well. Therefore, with any experimental album, the same is bound to happen.
Read More...
Cairo Knife Fight - Iron album review
01 Aug 2009 // by lukefitzmaurice
When I first listened to this album I immediately got the impression of movement. The first track definitely felt like it was driving towards… well… something, I wasn’t quite sure what at that stage.
Read More...
Good Laika - Followed by a Trail of Sparks review
30 Jul 2009 // by lukefitzmaurice
The press release that came with this album read, “When listening to Good Laika’s sophomore album Followed by a Trail of Sparks, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d stumbled across some lost soul’s travel diary.” It was an interesting introduction to an album, so I sat with eager anticipation as I played it through for the first time.
Read More...
Fat Freddy's Drop - Dr Boondigga and the Big BW
11 Jun 2009 // by lukefitzmaurice
I fell in love with this album about five and a half minutes into track six. Up until that point I was reasonably impressed with the album, but I felt like Fat Freddy’s Drop hadn’t quite captured the vibe that made their first album so immensely successful.
Read More...
The Veils - Sun Gangs Reviews
07 May 2009 // by lukefitzmaurice
A word of warning – on the whole, Sun Gangs seems pretty slow. And to be fair, it’s true that the album contains one or two tracks that are indisputably subdued, title track Sun Gangs being one that immediately springs to mind.
Read More...
The Mint Chicks - Screens Review
31 Mar 2009 // by lukefitzmaurice
First things first, DO NOT judge this album the first time you listen to it. That’s what I was tempted to do, because in all honesty, after listening to Screens once through I was a little disappointed.
Read More...
View All Articles By lukefitzmaurice

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS (WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE)
    Ariana Grande
  • BEAUTIFUL THINGS
    Benson Boone
  • END OF BEGINNING
    Djo
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • TEXAS HOLD 'EM
    Beyonce
  • STICK SEASON
    Noah Kahan
  • PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT
    YG Marley
  • CARNIVAL
    Kanye West And Ty Dolla $ign
  • SATURN
    SZA
  • LOVIN ON ME
    Jack Harlow
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem