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Music is a universal language. It can sometimes break down barriers
and unite people, it can tug the heartstrings of just about anyone,
it can trigger stronger memories than most other things in our collective
lives. It is amazing that someone as young as Trevor Hall can
prompt this king of reaction with his music. At least, I am assuming
he is young. His eponymous release on Vanguard Records is not his
first release, but it seems to be his most cohesive effort to date.
The songs wind through the psyche with a fluidity and emotional presence
that belies his relative anonymity, the songs holding a depth and
character normally reserved for artists with a much longer and more
revered catalog.
The album begins with "Internal Heights", a song that lifts
the spirit in spite of, possibly because of, its simplistic lyric
that repeats ad nauseam while the music takes on a modern world beat
sound and Hall's vocals seem to echo Peter Gabriel's most earthy
moments. Songs like "Who You Gonna Turn To" and "The
Lime Tree" have an easy reggae feel, losing the force and drive
of the other songs and turning to an easy, sunny drifting instead,
even if their lyric is a little heavier. Hall is joined by Krishna
Das for the brilliant "My Baba", a song replete with
light dub influences and a spiritual message of hope and love. The
incredible Matisyahu joins Hall for a second version of the
reggae-rocker "Unity", another song with a strong message
of hope and love for the entire world. There are songs here that sound
like bands as varied as The Samples, Steve Scott and
Gran Bel Fisher as Trevor Hall's voice resonates with a power
and presence that belies his youth, inspiring the listener to greater
things and challenging ordinary perceptions of beauty. "Volume"
and "Sing The Song" take the music to an energetic level
that transcends the mellow cool of the rest of the record, driving
the rhythms faster and louder while still maintaining the messages
of love and joy.
That is the true strength of Trevor Hall's music; not only does
the music itself inspire the spirit to soar to greater heights,
but also to find the joy and hope in the world around and embrace
it, making that world a much better place. Whether he is coolly
relating a story of tranquility or rocking things up a bit, his
gritty voice reaches out to the listener to find something greater…
something wonderful, everywhere, in everything. "There are
many roads, many paths that lead to you/some say they're false,
but I believe that all of them are true/the green earth and the
sky blue…"
-Embo Blake
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