Boogie Low’s self-titled debut album is a very engaging affair. It is a hard album to define. My initial impulse was to label this as a straight up reggae album, but upon further listen it is so much more. The Syracuse area band manage to use its reggae roots as a platform to dive off into a pool of melodic diversions.

It is the guitar interplay between Matthew West and Loudon Smith that will demand repeated listens. Their playing can only be described as gorgeous. On “Eldin”, they weave in and out like melodic shaman using tension and release to stir ambiance. On best track, “Back to Nothing”, the duo sound like everyone from Carlos Santana to jazz-reggae great Ernest Ranglin. Their playing offers beauty through restraint. There are no gratuitous riffs or overplaying. Each guitar part serves a purpose and adds color and texture.
Author: Colin Seymour