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June 2010
Niyorah "Feel Your Presence" Album Review
Too many people only associate roots rock reggae with the 1970's and seminal bands like Bob Marley and the Wailers, Peter Tosh, Black Uhuru, and Burning Spear. This is a shame because roots reggae is alive and well, and not just amongst the grey dreads. Some proof of this can be found in Niyorah, a young artist who has just released an impressive album entitled Feel Your Presence. This is the St. Croix and St. Thomas native's third studio album and it doesn't falter. Niyorah tackles contemporary issues through bouncy live instrumentation riddims, and lyrics that are unapologetically spiritual and socially conscious. Niyorah exhibits a level of confidence that is refreshing and Feel Your Presence doesn't attempt to cater to a wider audience by including pop or reggaeton acts. The album feels mature, and the production work of veteran Andrew 'Bassie' Campbell no doubt helped accomplish this, as did recording it entirely in Jamaica, including at Tuff Gong studios.
Feel Your Presence, like a good movie, captures the audience from the get-go. Niyorah comes storming out of the gate with "No Guts, No Glory", a call to action beseeching us to: become the fullest of the story. But the song is also an explanation of what we can expect for the next thirteen songs: guts being fearless lyrics, and glory being praises to Jah. The next track is "Bruck Down Barrier" which features Niyo and Jah Mason chanting down Babylon with gusto. This track dispels any notion that Feel Your Presence is going to be strictly an old-school flavored reggae album, Niyorah can chant, and the duo trade verses like they've been doing it for years. But before the pace gets too frenetic Niyo brings the tempo down and the focus back to the spiritual with the simply outstanding, "Feel Your Presence", a truly beautiful and uplifting song that if there's any justice will be getting airplay for a long while.
Although I feel that "Feel Your Presence" is the stand-out on the album, and a wise choice to be the first single, the album doesn't lag elsewhere. "Close Call" is a modern day "Rebel Music (3' O Clock Roadblock)" except that Niyo doesn't throw away his herb stock. It also has a solid riddim that "Bassie" stretches for good effect after the final chorus is complete. Sugar Minnott brings his syrupy flow to "World Jungle", which compliments Niyorah's chanting nicely — bleak subject matter aside. "Capture the Moment" and "Turn Around the Garrison" keep the album's vibe consistent, and the positivity flowing even when the subject matter is challenging. And challenging it is, Niyo doesn't shy away from discussing such topics as state sponsored genocide, black-on-black crime, the failure of technology to better our existence, the sell out of our media institutions, the predatory pharamaceutical industry, and the victimization of poor people who are given bribes to act against their own self interest. Probably the most lyrically dense tracks on the album, and this is not to their detriment, are "No One Go Round the Track" and "Propaganda", although "Stolen Legacy" is also a gem. "Backbone" will be considered Feel Your Presence's love song but it's devoid of clichés and highly listenable, it's easily one of my favorite tracks. Feel Your Presence closes as strongly as it began with "Indigenous World". "Indigenous World" is unique. It has a hypnotic pounding drumbeat and tribal-type riddim with Niyo singing the praises of the natural world and living close to the land.
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