Rudymentari - Mala Herba Sempra Creix (Guspira Records)

In Mallorca, protests against mass tourism and the gentrification of the Balearic Islands have been ongoing for several years now, and that sentiment also seeps through into Rudymentari's lyrics. For instance, in 'Ca La Rata' ("house of the rats"):

Tenen la mar a dos pams, (They have the sea within arm's reach,)
però i faran piscina. (but they still build a swimming pool.)
No hi volen trobar borbs, (They don't want to see waves,)
ni tampoc a cap veïna! (nor any neighbours nearby!)

In 'Què Volen' ("what do they want?") we hear:

He vist llum a barracons, (I have seen light in barracks,)
Esperança a carrerons, (hope in narrow alleyways,)
I he vist, qui ho aixafava! (and I saw who was crushing it!)
Àvies, mares i nadons! (grandmothers, mothers and babies,)
Lluitant especulacions! (fighting speculation!)
Aferrades a sa balconada! (clinging to their balconies!)

The band's mission is neatly summed up in 'Nostra Manera' ("our way"):

Rudymentari és es nostre estil! (Rudymentari is our style!)
Nostra forma transforma paraules en projectils! (We turn words into projectiles!)
Música i llengua, un altaveu combatiu... (Music and language, a combative loudspeaker…)
A ritme de reggae, reggae! (To the rhythm of reggae, reggae!)

Personal favourites from the track list include the up-tempo 'Kabrit' (a free spelling of "cabrit", Catalan for goat or young billy goat), in which Rudymentari argues it is better to be a stubborn, defiant goat than a compliant sheep, and 'Crema I Ensaïmada', which uses the making of traditional Catalan sweets like crema catalana and ensaïmada (a typical Balearic pastry) as a metaphor for crafting authentic music.

With 'Mala Herba Sempra Creix', Rudimentary once again prove that Menorca has far more to offer than just Balearic beat!