Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad has exhibited a plethora of talent on their three full-length albums, either landing in the dub reggae or Americana genres. Founded in Rochester in 2004, Giant Panda has last peaked at #5 on the Reggae Billboard Charts two years ago with their most recent album “In These Times”. As their new single spreads across the internet, fans are now eager to hear the band’s fourth full-length album Steady, expected to debut at the close of September. This album is the first collaboration with longtime Giant Panda friends at Easy Star Records – the independent reggae label of The Green, Rebelution, Cas Haley, John Brown’s Body, The Black Seeds and Easy Star All Stars. Although set to release September 30th, a bulk of the album was previously recorded in 2013 with Craig Walsh of 10 ft. Ganja Plant co-producing. Needless to say, Steady is one of the most highly anticipated reggae records of the year.
“This is without a doubt the best sounding record we've ever made,” says singer-bassist James Searl. “But it's also the most consistently solid set of songwriting we've done to date.”
The song exuberates the jubilant feeling of being helplessly in love.
The title track “Steady” is available for free download at http://livepanda.com. The song exuberates the jubilant feeling of being helplessly in love. Backed with a mellow melody, the first verse’s lyrics of “taking it slow” is not only fitting, but an epitome of the reggae community mantra: let’s vibe together as we cherish today. Even though time isn’t of the essence per se, the question of future commitment in the premier verse leads the listener to the chorus where there’s almost an eruption of repressed emotion – an exclamation of passionate love for the song’s subject that was, up until that point, downplayed.
The happy-go-lucky-in-love song is just the start of what the upcoming album has to offer. On top of the digital release at the close of September, Giant Panda record collectors are in luck for a special vinyl release is to follow. If that wasn't enough, there won’t be a long gap in between albums: the band announced that “Bright Days” – a sequel to their 2012 Americana album “Country” – is about to take their acoustic persona to epic proportions and is due out early 2015.
Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad – “Steady”
For more information about Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad and download their new single “Steady”, head over to their website and give them a “Like” on Facebook.
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