David Rudder
Zero
Lypsoland

On his latest, Rudder once again shows himself to be a maker of conscious pop music, creating songs for a mass audience that are both fun and spiritual. Zero includes the obligatory feel-good paeans to his homeland, but it includes some more thoughtful fare too.

"Trini Girls" talks about the 'sweet torture' of the beautiful women of his island home, but on another track, he eulogizes deceased musical heroes, imagining them all jamming in heaven. Zero is not Rudder's best album, but it still shows him at the top of Trinidadian music, equally adept at the fast, brass-powered soca style or just an acoustic guitar. - Marty Lipp

Artist's web site: http://www.davidrudder.co.tt/