Piracy Conspiracy makes their style known within just first few bars of the opening track off their self titled debut: hard-hitting, horn driven, roots music. The San Diego based group is a merging of Piracy (aka Gloria Melissa Carballo), a versatile MC with a self described “digital ragamuffin style” and the band Conspiracy. Not only do their titles perfectly merge into one of the coolest names I’ve heard on the scene in a long time, Piracy’s “sing jay” style of delivery, reminiscent of Sister Carol, blends perfectly with the solid rhythms and powerful horn lines of Conspiracy.
The band keeps the energy high throughout with an up tempo beat and Piracy spits lyrics to match
The album opens big with some hard hits in the intro to “Imperial”, which the band follows with a smooth grooving bass line underneath some regal horns and flowing lyrics of giving thanks and praise. The band keeps things moving on the next track but Piracy has her lyrics take a more somber tone, singing about the “Rapture”, also serving as the title of the song. Things pick back up on the next track, “Galang”, with a dance hall intro mixed with an upbeat rootsy verse. The music and the lyrics seem to feed off of each others energy perfectly, I wouldn’t be surprised if I learned that the tracks were recorded live.
In a departure from some of the more hard hitting tracks on the album, Piracy Conspiracy changes things up with an acoustic version of their song “Goodbye Lover”. The instrumentation is kept simple, with just an acoustic guitar keeping the rhythm, an airy, almost haunting melodica and Piracy’s voice singing of a past lover. As with their other tracks, everything is blended perfectly, it’s almost like you’re in the room with the band, or in this case I feel like I could be by a campfire on the beach watching them play this acoustic track.
“Roots and Culture” has my favorite intro on the album, with the bass teasing the listener with low hits as the keyboards bubble and the horns blare their lines. As they settle into the groove, Piracy comes in with lyrics about maintaining a sense of culture within our youth today, a message important in today’s world were kids are exposed to more and more distractions through technology in their daily lives. The album finishes with the song “Sound the Trumpets” which of course leads off with the bands powerful horn section. The band keeps the energy high throughout with an up tempo beat and Piracy spits lyrics to match, making the song a call to action for those that want to see positive change in the world.
This album, mixed with an engaging live show, make Piracy Conspiracy poised to spread their music far and wide in the reggae scene and beyond. I’m excited to see this band grow their dancehall-roots mashup style of reggae. Check them out at one of their upcoming shows and pick up a copy of their new album!
Track listing
- Imperial
- Galang
- Come to Rock
- Sound the Trumpets
- Roots & Culture
- Rapture
- Goodbye Lover (Acoustic Version)
Preview and download from
Piracy Conspiracy – Goodbye Lover
For more information about Piracy Conspiracy, please visit their website.
Released March 11, 2014
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Disclaimer: All views presented in this album review are those of the reviewer and not necessarily those of Top Shelf Music.
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