Back in 1999, Roots Manuva’s debut album ‘Brand New Second Hand’ was the first record to emerge on the then-fledgling Big Dada label, and twelve years on, he’s emerged as a figurehead for the UK hiphop scene over the past decade, as well as an influential figure for many of the younger grime and dancehall names. Three years on from his preceding ‘Slime & Reason’ album and its accompanying ‘Duppy Writer’ remix collection of last year, this fifth studio album from Roots ’4everevolution’ easily represents his most sprawling and stylistically collection to date, with its 17 tracks taking in everything from dancehall and electro influences, through to disco, house and some of the most immediately accessible pop he’s turned his hand to, to date. While it’s a collection that revolves firmly around Roots’ own production and vocals, a fair amount of guests make appearances here, ranging from Banana Klan cohorts DJ MX and Ricky Ranking, through to Toddla T and Skunk Anansie’s Skin and Cass Lewis.
Rather than simply an exercise of covering all the stylistic bases, ’4everevolution’ feels more like a collection that charts all of the various avenues Roots has traversed to date, whilst also hinting where his ever moving brain might go next. Those looking for speaker-quaking ‘Witness’-esque sub-bass are well catered for by the likes of ‘Here We Go Again’ as a smooth soul backing vocal slides against clicking electroid rhythms, synth shimmers and Roots’ characteristically deep-voiced flow, who ‘Who Goes There?’ ventures out into slightly unhinged bashment dancehall, complete with background shouts bursting forth over creepy synths and juddering, off-centre beats. There’s more than a hint of the sweeping melancholy Roots has previously explored alongside The Cinematic Orchestra in ‘Skid Valley’s fusion of almost gothic string orchestration, clattering live drums and Roots’ social / urban-decay centred lyrics (a recurrent theme throughout this album), while elsewhere both electro-centred Toddla T collaboration ‘Watch Me Dance’ and the lazily soul-infused ‘Wha’ Mek’ see him crafting some of his most comparatively straightforward pop offerings so far, the latter track in particular seeing him singing the lyrics perhaps more than ever before. An inspired return from Mr Manuva that could easily be his best album since ‘Run Come Save Me.’
Chris Downton
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