‘Hawaii ’13’
The Green
(Easy Star)
A hit album is good reason for a group to celebrate. With "Hawaii ’13," the third album by The Green, coming out Tuesday, the hardworking sextet — Ikaika Antone, JP Kennedy, Caleb Keolanui, Zion Thompson, Brad Watanabe and Jordan Espinoza — is a few short days from going 3-for-3 in terms of hit albums and celebrating big time.
The Green blew up for the first time in 2010 with the release of its self-titled debut album that won the 2011 Na Hoku Hanohano Award for reggae album of the year. Next came "Ways & Means," released in 2011. While most of the album reaffirmed the group’s commitment to Jamaican rhythms, there was also a song with a fresh, multigenre pop sound closer to Bruno Mars than conventional "island music."
That same careful balance is found in "Hawaii ’13." Comfortable Jamaican-style rhythms predominate, but there’s a nonreggae song — "Chocolates & Roses" — that could help The Green reach a completely different chunk of the pop market. Dispensing with the tried-and-true reggae rhythms, the band goes with a romantic "slow jam" beat, augmented by piano and acoustic guitar, to describe a romantic relationship that remains strong every month of the year.
Want romance with a reggae beat? Check out "Count to 3." The lyrics, vocals and instrumentation mesh beautifully. The subject — missing someone you’re not with — is universal, and the song’s dub-style fade adds to its poignancy.
For a completely different take on romance, take a listen to "Always & Forever." It’s an uplifting love song for all seasons, and an inspiring choice as the final song.
Jump back a few songs and The Green shares a great all-purpose insult with "Good Vibe Killah."
It’s interesting that The Green bookends the album’s 13 songs — all in English — with Hawaiian-language performances by guest artists. Students of the Halau Lokahi Charter School open with a song titled "He Mele No Ku‘u Hawai‘i," a modern composition by Hinaleimoana K.K. Wong-Kalu. A similar message is conveyed with the closing song, "Hawai‘i Aloha," written by Lorenzo Lyons and James McGranahan more than a century ago and sung here by students from the Halau Lokahi Charter School and the Hakipu‘u Learning Center. (Producers Danny Kalb and band member Watanabe include the Hawaiian lyrics and English translations for the first song in the liner notes so everyone will understand its message.)
Will The Green include some reggae songs with Hawaiian lyrics on its next album? It isn’t something it needs to do, but adding original Hawaiian-language reggae to its repertoire would take the culture to a new level.
But for now, congratulations to The Green for "Hawaii ’13." Go celebrate.
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