Low and Behold, High and Beyond Album Review

Sola Rosa seem to be one of those bands that’s always been making great music, and forging a sound that has often been imitated but seldom matched. Starting out as the solo project of Andrew Spraggon, Sola Rosa now combines the talents of some of the best local and international musicians to produce their distinctive tunes.

Low and Behold, High and Beyond is their sixth full length album, and that high output and longevity shows through on every track, from the jaunty opener Promise, right through to the album closer, the sultry and smoky Loveless, one of the album highlights.

The standout tracks are the ones featuring LA Mitchell, her voice working well within each song and elevating the music, proving her versatility once again.  That said, a couple of the tracks with Spikey Tee also work exceptionally well, his MCing adding a bit of bounce to Rise (The Machine) and a rough texture to I’m Not That Guy.

Percussionist extraordinaire Julien Dyen (OpenSouls, Ladi6) appears on almost every track providing live drums, yet despite his considerable skills on the drum kit, he knows to temper things back here, never showing off as he contributes to the musical melting pot in each song.

The credit for the album really deserves to stand with Andrew Spraggon though. As the creater of Sola Rosa, and the core member, it’s his creativity and direction that has delivered on each and every track, and allowed him to draw in such high calibre collaborators.

Low and Behold, High and Beyond has shown that Sola Rosa can continue to make albums that stand out from the crowd, and has set a new standard for them.