PARTISAN RECORDS 11th September 2026
Every record from the Ezra Collective has been a joy and this one highlights the way that joy can grow from pain. The music is everywhere as full of love, celebration and groove as it always has been but the band have added three short spoken pieces from actress, Letitia Wright, spelling out the hope that drives joy, commenting on the experience of hard times and oppression leading to nights of communal happiness. An Ezra Collective album is a different experience to an Ezra Collective album. Live, the band are sweat, bounce, volume, exhortations to jump and celebrate. On record there is a subtlety and range of styles, ranging through the band’s influences. I love both and I’m filled with happiness to hear this set.
The set fits together in an organic flow from impelling to relaxed and back again, so these track descriptions are only for flavour and to show the breadth of the range of styles – the whole is a living, breathing unity. The album has a slow-skanking, thoughtful instrumental in ‘Blow Your Trumpet’ with the titular instrument leading a simple melody, flanked by piano. ‘Sweet Echo’ is a typical Ezra dancer with the bass pushing forward and horns driving steps forward. The temperature rises with a blasting trumpet solo. There is gentleness too; ‘Don’t Worry’ is a reflective dance tune with nice trumpet noodling. ‘Only Love’ features Pa Salieu and a deep and grooving beat accompanies Pa toasting. ‘Someday’ brings a warm, relaxed smile as the chilled vibe with grooving guitar, organ and horn chorus glides and dances. The trumpet digs deep then soars.
Letitia talks about sound systems transmitting truth and that leads into ‘Birdie Sings’, a deep, dubby reggae beat with subsonic rhythm bringing thoughts of Aswad’s seminal ‘Warrior Charge’. ‘The Last Stand’ has that same serious deep feel of dub beats late at night. Lila Ike adds vocals to the sweet ‘Well Organised’. Latin beats push ‘El Corazon’, which is a proper banger, making my feet move. There is jazz too, in the speedy ‘Bunny On The Rise’. The third spoken piece talks about how sweet music comes out of pain. “Lovers Rock” she says, introducing a slow reggae lovers’ song. Leona Lewis sings us an end of the night slow smoocher. As a mini-encore, the celebratory ‘Jubilee Feeling’ dances us up to the jazzy backbeat of ‘Black Flag’, which walks on swivel-hips, snapping its fingers. ‘Most High’ sees Libianca contributing sinuous smoky vocals to a personal invocation in an essential calm down.
This is an album that combines dance groove with jazz vibes and pleases the feet, the brain and the ears. My personal sadness is that I’ll never see the band play a 400-capacity venue again – they’re just too popular and that success keeps growing. My joy is seeing this band achieve what they deserve, influencing and inspiring others musically, socially, and spiritually.
Ross McGibbon
Other Ezra Collective reviews:
Ezra Collective – Live in Leeds 2024 – “every tune is a banger, for ninety minutes”
EZRA COLLECTIVE – ‘Dance, No One’s Watching’- “rare and special”
Ezra Collective – Live in Leeds 2022 – “everyone a soloist, everyone tighter than tight”