Album Review: View from the Root

A while ago, I came across a new band, the Adam Ezra Group, and was struck right away during their concert that these guys were good. I saw them the next week, and ran a feature on them, saying that they were good, but they had to refine their sound a little before they were really good.
Later this month, the group is releasing their first album in three years, View from the Root, and it looks like my wish came true - the band has come a long way since that last album, and this latest album is undoubtedly my favorite and their strongest work thus far.
They have tightened down their timing and feel, coming out with a superior album. There's a lot of really good songs here - Home Again Soon, Katie, Basement Song (more about that in a second) and Flyin' - all with everything that I loved about the group's sound.

One thing that I've noticed between their live work and their albums is the intensity - these guys play a killer show with a ton of energy. Their earlier albums didn't really translate that as well, but it's coming through here.
One song has been recycled from an earlier album - Basement Song, which previously appeared on Ezra's solo album Chain, from 2005. The new version has been taken down almost two minutes, and really is a good benchmark for how far these guys have come - The original was a lot more raw, rough and not quite as good. The newer version incorporates the entire band, and has a much better sound and feel to it - much tighter and refined.

They also really seem to have found their own sound and groove - I've felt that they sound like a couple other bands, a little Dispatch, Dave Matthew's and a couple other random ones. Here though, we have a really independent feel, and it seems that they have come into their own with their album. I'm really hoping that with this new album, we'll see another tour from them, because I can't wait to see them live and in person once again.

The band is currently going out on tour to various locations to support their new album. If they hit your area, I highly recommend checking them out. Here's where they'll be:

saturday, may 10, 12pm
wayland town beach
wayland, ma

sunday, may 11, 10:30am
pine street inn homeless shelter
boston, ma

friday, may 16, 8pm
watertown, ma

sunday, may 18, 8pm
old oak tavern
rochester, nh

thursday, may 22, 8pm
land ho!
orleans, ma (cape cod)

friday, may 23, 7pm
bishop guertin high school - www.bghs.org
nashua, nh

saturday, may 24, 9pm
twin river casino
lincoln, ri

sunday june 8, 12:30pm
artesani park
cambridge, ma

thursday, june 12, 7:30pm
harbor park at the moakley courthouse
boston, ma

saturday, june 14, 8pm
uncle eddie's
salisbury, ma

thursday, july 31, 9pm
redhook brewery
portsmouth, nh

saturday, august 2, 3pm
mass maritime academy
buzzard's bay, ma

Katie - Adam Ezra Group
Flyin' - Adam Ezra Group

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