Album Review: Love In The Way

Out of the surf-lashed coasts of Mangawhai Heads comes the six-piece reggae-rock act SOJØURN, who have shown no signs of relenting, nor losing their love for making psychedelic and surf-inspired music for well over six years. They’ve made waves across Aotearoa’s radio frequencies, played live at countless festivals’ stages, released a dozen singles and EPs, so it was high time the band showcased their efforts in the form of a full-length record. The ten tracks took Muzic net’s Steve S on a ride, and this is what he reckoned:

Over the years of review-writing and going to gigs, I’ve come to realise that the reggae scene has always maintained a fanbase across multiple generations. Scenes like hip-hop, rock and many others have experienced boom-bust cycles, with certain subgenres which emerge then gradually fade after a handful of years, yet reggae as a scene has always held popular in Aotearoa. No doubt there have been papers and studies written to explain why reggae has remained a staple for many Kiwis. It’s easy to get into, equal parts energising and relaxing, and mirrors the idyllic feel of “that classic New Zealand image”, however you may picture it.

Anyway, I digress!

Reggae, and its many iterations and variations are ingrained in Aotearoa’s music scenes. SOJØURN are one of many still influenced and inspired by the pantheons of reggae music, going on to record and perform passionately on stages, and continue to do so.

Easing our way into the new album is the namesake single Love in the Way, to the sound of skittering guitars, steady grooves of bass and light drums, supported by effervescent sounds of keyboards and saxophone. Before the song crescendos into a trilling climax of guitars and saxophone, we’re left humming along to the chorus, which quite aptly sums up SOJØURN’s vibe:

“It’s makin’ me feel, it feels so good
I’ll pick you up like I said I would!”

The album also features the well-loved single Stay, a pop-driven modern reggae tune, cut from very similar cloth to say, The Black Seeds or even Katchafire. Isaac’s soul-tinged pop vocal melodies are the main driver of the tune, while bassist Tony and drummer Visko’s rhythms power that irresistible reggae groove. Bopping along and sipping my pilsner, something tells me the lyrical theme of hanging out for the good times is gonna be a recurring one throughout this record.

That thought was affirmed by the highly dance-worthy Piña Colada. With an unmistakable Latin-American groove, stirred with authentic Kiwi reggae sounds, I could envisage this one summoning a large crowd of festivalgoers all grooving the night away in unison. I’ll assume drummer Visko had a field day sourcing all the traditional percussion sounds synonymous with South American music, the names of which I can’t recall. The mix of bossa nova with SOJØURN’s reggae styles is pretty unique, and I can’t say I’ve ever listened to such a well-balanced blend as this.

I mentally earmarked The Dream as a highlight of the record, as its guitar work made me sit up in my seat from the song’s beginning, through the atmospheric verses and arena-sized choruses right to the end. While SOJØURN may have momentarily swapped out reggae on this tune for more straight-forward pop-rock songwriting, they kept their signature guitar shuffles and saxophone embellishments within ear’s reach, just to remind you that it’s still SOJØURN you’re listening to. The Dream is arguably the most rock-sounding number on Love In The Way; the energy of the song ebbs and flows with each reverbing guitar strum, while shimmering pulses of Noah’s keyboard washes in and out like low-tide waves on a beach.

For some dreamy escapism, Treetops leans deep into the band’s psychedelic influences. The samples of birdcall, the warming, reverberating vocal effects and echoing guitar chords gives one that feeling of closing your eyes while sitting in the shade of a tree and feeling the breeze around you. Over the slow, waltz-like drum rhythm, Noah’s spaced-out keyboards teams up with a super tasteful saxophone solo from Jacob, which fills out the track’s ending. Such spectacularly, bliss-inducing stuff. 

In a more indie-rock format, the sobering Play It Cool bears mildly remorseful lyrics, recounting the events and aftermath of a night out. The chorus of male voices singing along with lead vocalist Isaac is a nice touch, as if one’s group of mates all woke up admitting to the events of the evening prior:

“It doesn’t feel very nice, 

When you wake up in the morning
after too many wines…”

Yep. Been there. Now to just try and play it cool for the rest of the day.

Capping off the LP is a reggae-ish country tune, titled Someday, an easy-sounding number with the outback swagger of slide guitar solos, albeit with light, offbeat chords. Even if it wasn’t riding on the current buzz of adoration for country music, this song comes across as a bold hybrid of what SOJØURN is best at when combined with a different genre. Like Piña Colada, Someday is another example of SOJØURN’s brilliant ability to take their familiar scopes and blend in a different genre.

The amount of variations and adaptions is nothing short of applaudable, and every track on Love In The Way reminds one of the summertime, which can never be a bad thing!
As someone who loves the warmer seasons, this album would be the perfect way to combat the cooler months ahead. It goes without saying that if SOJØURN are playing in your area, you’ll wanna pop down and bop along to their new batch of tunes.

Find SOJØURN and their latest gig dates, as well as their social media HERE.