San Diego's Tribal Seeds benefit greatly from the jam band-fueled, rock-reggae revolution that hit somewhere around 2010, but they're a unique, inspired, and irie group, and don't fall prey to the genre's cliches. They do, however, utilize the tried and true rock-reggae tropes of sunshine, good times, and justice when it comes to their lyrics, but the appearance of the mystical
Midnite man
Vaughn Benjamin on the opening and title cut of
Representing is the first sign these guys go deeper than usual flip-flop-wearing rockers. Veteran reggae vocalists
Don Carlos ("Blood Clot") and
Mykal Rose ("Herb Stock") are here to underline the group's reggae credibility, but many of the high points come from the group going it alone as "Moonlight" poetically paints a picture of untouched nature bringing one nirvana, while "Lonely Nights" is a beautiful ode to old friends who are no longer available, due to death or simply distance. ~ David Jeffries