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Sons Of Zion - Universal Love album review

28 Oct 2013 // A review by Asmith

Sons Of Zion have blown onto the scene rather quickly, the self confessed “young guys” of the reggae scene, their music a mixture of all their various influences including rock, blues, R&B, electronic, pop all heavily lathered with a strong base of reggae.

Their latest album Universal Love is the kind of album you play to your girl, or the girl you want. A lot of serenading styled songs aimed at girls, this is the album to melt and/or break hearts all over New Zealand and beyond, and from what I've seen so far it has already begun.

My favourite track off the album would have to be the title track Universal Love, with the bluesy guitar licks spread throughout the song, what can I say I'm just a sucker for the blues.

The vocals throughout this album are amazing, every harmony has been nailed perfectly and the vocal techniques used remind me a lot of early 90's R&B, softly sung soulful melody lines that draw you into the music and I can only imagine the amount of work that must of gone into these vocals, both writing and in the studio.

This is the kinda album I can sit out on the deck in the sun, sharing a beer with the boys (and girls) having a BBQ and just chilling out, the perfect addition to any summer party with a nicely timed release all ready for the summer season, now I just need to get myself sorted to top off my summer by catching these guys live on their upcoming album release tour!

Universal Love
View Track Listing
 

About Sons Of Zion

Sons of Zion have well and truly earned their place in the upper echelons of New Zealand music. From their humble Kiwi beginnings, to playing shows across the globe and dominating charts, Sons of Zion have amassed an impressive 48.5 million streams on Spotify, more than 15 million views on YouTube and 100,000-plus followers on social media.

For members Rio, Sam, Joel, Matt, Ross, and Caleb, it’s a track record that has established them as one the southern hemisphere’s most-loved and well-respected bands. In autumn 2018 the band made their mark with latest single Drift Away. Drift Away has been the #1 most played song on New Zealand radio for 3 weeks running, achieving the #1 NZTop20 NZ Single and almost 3 million streams and over 130,000 video views.

The track is featured on their brand new album Vantage Point, alongside a slew of their other hits including Now and Is That Enough (Ft. Aaradhna) – both #1 NZ & Urban Airplay Singles. Vantage Point hit #3 on the iTunes Album Chart, as well as entering the Billboard’s Reggae Chart at #9. Sons of Zion made their mark in 2009 with their self-titled debut album, following it up in 2013 with their full-length studio album Universal Love, which included the smash singles Be My Lady, Good Love and Tell Her - the latter two songs achieving #1 Urban and #1 NZ Airplay respectively. The hits continued to flow with Stuck on Stupid, Fill Me Up, I’m Ready and Hungover, winning over new and old fans alike.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Sons Of Zion

Releases

Vantage Point
Year: 2018
Type: Album
The Jukebox Suite
Year: 2017
Type: EP
Universal Love
Year: 2013
Type: Album
Buy Online @ Mightyape
Sons Of Zion
Year: 2009
Type: Album

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