Stick Figure ADD

Review

Album Review: SensaMotion - Feel It All Around

08/07/2025

by Gardy Stein

Better late than never: SensaMotion has been floating on the periphery of my US-reggae-radar for quite a while now, but this is the first time I get to hear them in album length. And, damn, those guys are so worth following! Hailing from Atlantic City, Art Rivell (lead vocals & guitar), Mike Crosson (drums), and Dylan Farina (bass) started out in 2011, have released their debut EP Looking Up in 2014 (and two albums since) and are now back with Feel It All Around, brought to us by the good people of Ineffable Records.

The first thing that hits home is the distinct and coherent sound of this album (shout-out to Noah Cronin who mixed and mastered this baby). Although every song is different, the ten tracks form an organic whole, a calm invitation to follow SensaMotion into the magic forest so vividly depicted on the cover. Second: the vocals! The timbre of lead singer Art feels like a warm embrace, and the additional harmonies wrap around us like a cozy blanket. Listen to the first track Shine Upon Us All and tell me I’m exaggerating! In that particular case, both the lyrics and beautiful graphic design of the single cover add massively to the feel-good vibe – props are due to co-writers Samyr Qureshi and Kyle Ahern.

Rising Ashes continues that mood, adding the empowering metaphor to “rise from the ashes”, which is what we do each time we learn from our mistakes and failures. While Fallin’ For You, a tender love song, is similar in tempo, Changes  is a bit faster and includes more digital effects and synthies, compared to the analogue sound of the others.  

“I’ve got a feeling this day is a good one…” Honestly, we should use this sentence as a mantra every morning, because so much depends on the mindset we start our day with. Beautiful Day is special exactly because it brings across that simple truth, with intense bass and an adorable melody at that. Instant favorite!

So far, we’ve only listened to the songs played “solo” by SensaMotion, but there is more to discover on this oeuvre, as the remaining five tracks were recorded with some exciting featured artists. First up, Stick Figure’s lead singer Scott Woodruff comes in on Show Love, another single out since April. It reminds me strongly of the track Imperfect Perfection by the Swedish band Bellaroush that has settled comfortably on my playlist ever since it was released – the same laid-back tempo, the same sweet chords and vocal bliss!  

David New, singer of the Florida-based band The Hip Abduction joins in on The Ways which has that feel-good, almost surfer vibe, pleading to slow down sometimes. Another important message is brought across in Hold On, again a perfectly balanced piece in terms of instrumentation, tempo and arrangement. And vocals, of course, as it features Layton Meacham, a name I haven’t yet come across but will remember for sure.  

See The Good is a fine example of the positive lyrics you can choose to create once you reach the level of artistry that gives you access to stages and recording studios. Together with E.N Young, Art uses the final song to urge us to look beyond the surface and try to see the good in everyone and everything: “In every person there's a light, a spark that glows both day and night, a force that drives us all to be the best that we can truly see…”

The title track now… if a song is so achingly beautiful that it makes you cry, repeatedly, the creators did something right. Feel It All Around is one of those timeless classics, and the fact that Jacob Hemphill of the Grammy-winning group SOJA is throwing his considerable prowess into the ring only makes it better (ok, the addition of brothers Rick and Frank Rein on horns also helps). I can already hear the choir of huge crowds singing the chorus in threefold harmonies!

SensaMotion have crafted a true gem here. Feel It All Around keeps the promise made in its title – this music resonates deeply in heart and mind, body and soul, and you feel its positive impact long after listening. Can somebody please bring those guy on tour to Europe?

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