If the classic soul, smooth reggae, upbeat ska and distinctive storytelling found all over Westbound Train's new album, Come and Get It, has you stepping into your neighborhood record shop in search of Otis Redding, the Wailers, or The Specials, nobody would be more stoked than the members of Boston's best modern reggae/soul outfit.

...Westbound Train wants to be your gateway drug.

Shattering musical boundaries while embracing the best of several genres, the septet has fully come into their own with Come and Get It, their second Hellcat release. The new album invites listeners on a journey, traveling through all of the band's previous influences while creating an exciting new sound that they are eager to reveal to the world in 2009.

"We are a band that isn't afraid to take risks. We take what we do seriously," explains lead vocalist/trombone player and band co-founder Obi Fernandez. "I hope that we can be a band that makes people want to trace our music back to its sources - Sam Cooke, the Four Tops, The Maytals, or whomever. The farther you go back, the more you realize that all of these styles that sound a lot different today have a whole lot in common."

After years of nonstop touring in support of their Hellcat debut, Transitions, the band's members took some time off from touring to refocus and further improve the cohesion of the group. They soon enlisted new members Eric Novod (drums) and Luke Penella (tenor sax), whose shared love of soul and jazz greatly contributed to the new sounds found on Come and Get It.

Compared to the band's three previous albums, Come and Get It is the best representation of Westbound Train to be captured on record thus far. Two stand-out tracks include "So Many Things a Man Can Say," an old-school ballad that captures Fernandez's love of the Motown sound, and the highly orchestrated second track, "Ain't Gonna Be Easy," written about Fernandez's father. "In addition to the song being about my father, a lot of stuff was going on that was making life a little more complicated," Fernandez says.

"Check Your Time," is a reggae track near and dear to Fernandez's heart that features the band's infectious groove and a sing-along chorus that is sure to become a new fan favorite.