Rival Roots – “Environments”

October 16th, 2019

Rival Roots is a Reggae/Rock/Ska band out of Warwick, Rhode Island.  The band consists of Justin Leclerc (vocals/keyboard/trombone), Joe Margres (rhythm guitar/vocals), Tom Lupo (lead guitar), Mike Moura (bass) and Chris Netro (drums).  Despite forming in 2013, the band solidified this current lineup in the spring of 2015.  It is with this lineup that Rival Roots was able to create their sound, incorporating genres such as Reggae Rock, Ska, Punk and Metal.  In 2018, their sound was heard and they were given the opportunity to play some amazing shows, such as opening up for Ballyhoo!  While buzzing from that success, Rival Roots headed to the studio to record three original songs, creating their debut EP, “Environments”.

Like I do with most reviews, I was able to get some insight from the guys of Rival Roots about their debut EP.  “Environments” focuses on the band’s reggae/rock side and showcases the trombone melodies and lead guitar solos that give the band a distinct sound within the genre. “Police,” “Black Powder,” and “Frozen Sun” were written about 5 years ago and had already become staples in their live show prior to being recorded.”  This is something I thought was a really good idea.  A lot of times, bands have a few songs that are strictly for live performances.  While it is a great concept, I always find myself dying for a recorded version of that song.  I’m sure the OG Rival Roots fans went wild when they saw these three tracks were being recorded!

The EP starts off with “Police”, a powerhouse song to introduce Rival Roots to the world.  The first song of a debut EP is critical to a band’s success (at least in my opinion).  It is what tells listeners what you’re all about and what your sound is like.  These guys chose the perfect song to start off with.  To start off, the instrumentals are fantastic.  I was immediately hooked by the Sublime/The Expendables sounding guitar in the beginning and the horns came in to match perfectly!  If that doesn’t hook you, the lyrics surely will.  “I got these fears inside my head, you took them all just for a thrill, what did they do to disturb the peace?  You only got one life to live, you only got this day to give, so let me go before I slip away.  Only want the best for everyone, you know this.  It’s just so hard to face the truth.  Only you have known the things I’ve done before, and it’s not so simple now, I can hear them knocking at my door!”  In addition to the song being dope overall, the story behind it is pretty awesome.  While speaking with the band, they shared, “If you listen to the rhythm pattern at the beginning of “Police” it matches up to the opening of “Sound of da Police” by KRS-One. When the song was first written the band included Jim Cranham, who played turntables, and he sampled “Sound of da Police” before the band went into the rest of the song. Over time that intro evolved into a full band version that utilized the same rhythm with the rock edge to it.”  

“Environments” continues with “Black Powder”, my favorite song on the EP, and “Frozen Sun”.  Both songs have such a strong Sublime vibe mixed with Ballyhoo! sounding vocals.  It is filled with infectious Reggae Rock elements that fans will fall in love with.  From the incorporation of the horns, the guitar chords and drumming that make you dance along, and those nasty guitar solos, Rival Roots knows how to throw down on a song.  This album solidified Rival Roots place in the Reggae Rock scene for me.  They didn’t try to overdo it by packing a ton of half-assed songs onto a project.  These guys took three of their best songs and blew them out of the water with these recordings.  

What excites me the most about Rival Roots is their view on their future recordings.  “One thing that I think helps our band is that each song we have is quite different from one another. We’re looking forward to releasing the several upbeat major key ska influenced songs we have as well as our other reggae/rock songs. I think people that haven’t seen us live will be surprised by what our other songs sound like if they’re judging us on these first three.”  I have never seen Rival Roots live so I am pumped to see what else they have up their sleeve! 

With “Environments” now under their belt and gaining an amazing reception, Rival Roots is ready for the next chapter!  “We’re really grateful for the positive reception we’ve received from these first three songs. This EP was a litmus test for us and we’re excited to get back into the studio to record the full album with Ray. He’s really great to work with and he helped us to hear these songs in a completely new way. There are so many little details that he helped us focus on, whether it was a strumming pattern, a melodic phrase, or how the solos could be structured. It’s hard to imagine what these songs sounded like before working with Ray. He really brought them to life.”

Rival Roots made a name for themselves with their debut EP.  The music they’ve released already is nothing short of great.  Knowing that they’re shows incorporate so much more, I cannot wait to get these guys to play a Long Island show! Make sure you keep up with Rival Roots on their social media and check out “Environments” on the blog’s Spotify playlist: After Hours Review!