Review Summary: Although suffering from a few filler tracks overall, this is a very good album, which, if justice prevails, will be blasting out of speakers in cars, on beaches and smoky flats up and down the country this summer.
A staple for UK club and festival scene since forming in 1996, The Dub Pistols have been playing their fantastic soundclash of Hip Hop, Ska, Dub and Electro. Working with such notable artists as Terry Hall,
Moby and
Rodney P.
The music they play consists of versions, and their own very danceable compositions. They span many more genres than those listed above, with funk, disco and a very healthy dose of pop thrown into the mix. This may sound like they are trying too hard to expand their sound. This is certainly not the case. They do hold together with one unifying theme - Cool. Like genre spanning records such as
The Clash' Sandinista! and genre shaking experimental records such as
Metal Box by
Public Image Limited, these songs certainly have that enigmatic 'X-Factor'.
The record begins with slowly building horns, which echo heavily alongside radio communication to and from a space shuttle launch, slowly building into the most relaxing track on the album. With T.K Lawrence and Blade's slow paced rhyming about space travel making it sound like some long lost track from
Massive Attack's debut
Blue Lines.
The next track is the first version on the record, with an only slightly mixed track of Peaches by
The Stranglers, with the charismatic Rodney P rapping the theme of the original record, the shape of a beautiful woman. Although slightly crude and tacky, don't think too deeply about it and this could well be the soundtrack to your summer holidays, especially for those of you lucky enough to live near the beach like me. Fans of the original would do well to seek out this version, although purists may not be a fan of Rodney P's very different vocal performance.
The Cool I was talking about earlier may already be making a lot of sense to those of you who recognise the genius in mixing the old with the new, and if not, it certainly makes sense when you are listening to it. By taking a credible source track, such as Peaches, and adding an unexpected twist to the usual proceedings. Most will be nodding along to the tune, and enjoying hearing it in a whole new way.
The lead single from the record, and the best song on the record is definitely their take on
Blondie's pop gem Rapture. The tune which has been mixed into a sparse and thumping techno track, pairs excellently with Terry Hall's deadpan performance. Creating a great atmospheric sound, and doing exactly what a cover should, which is to show a whole new side to a song, and draw your attention to a new element within the rhythms, melodies and lyrics.
Unfortunately, with a record as sparse as this, sometimes the tack changeover takes you by surprise, especially between the best and worst track Rapture and Cruise control, which jarring beat and tired and repetitive chorus leave a lot to be desired.
Although suffering from a few filler tracks overall, this is a very good album, which, if justice prevails, will be blasting out of speakers in cars, on beaches and smoky flats up and down the country this summer.
