Thirty years after Rise Up, Parachute Club’s Lorraine Segato is still making us dance. Her third solo album and first in over 15 years is full of the soca-, funk- and reggae-infused songs of affirmation and hope for which she’s known.
It’s also almost a Parachute Club album, produced and co-written by longtime PC collaborator and co-founder David Gray. Numerous members past and present make appearances, including bassist Steve Webster, Chendy Leon, Vicki Randle and Rebecca Jenkins. Drummer Billy Bryans (who died in 2012) plays timbale on We Gave The Night Away. He also inspired the quietly mournful ballad Times Like This.
Segato’s soulful, distinct voice is charismatic whether she’s singing high or delivering humorous spoken riffs, as she does at the tail end of endearing reggae jam Who You Are (Be What You Be). Her message is stronger on some songs than others – Stephen Lewis’s reading of an Arundhati Roy quote on the title track is well-placed, as is d’bi young’s poetry on jazzy closer Living On The Outside. At times Segato’s writing could be stronger and Gray’s production less dated. These seem like quibbles, however, about so sunny and feel-good an album.
Top track: Invincible Decency
Lorraine Segato plays Daniels Spectrum Tuesday (March 3).
