
SWEET & IRIE : Localize It
By Liz Barry
When you are heading on holiday to the beach or to a festival this summer ‘Localize It’ is one album you’ll want turned up nice ‘n’ loud on your car stereo. Sweet & Irie first came to musical attention in 2006 with the penetrating lyrics of Ban the Burn, an anti-P song. With the aid of various established talents in the band, producer Mareko as well as label Dawn Raid’s Brotha D, singer/song writer Edward Ru is the vibrant front man bringing a new wave of ‘sunshine’ reggae music from the South Pacific. ‘Localize It’ features an enjoyable swag of timeless Rastafarian tunes, woven from the legacy of Bob Marley. Songs like Uncle Bob and Sweet & Irie pay homage to the foundation of reggae, while new songs like Mama, Don’t Cry and My Girl bring a modern, brightening twist. From a strong and coherent start the album disappointingly loses its focus in the last third, allowed to run several tracks too long, perhaps in order to share the love and credits even more broadly.
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