The Ragga Twins win hands down this week with their crisp collection of old school rave tunes. Tricky comes close second with an interesting but fairly mixed album.
Old School Dance: Ragga Twins ‘Ragga Twins Step Out’
‘Ragga Twins Step Out’ collects all the biggest tunes of the North London duo, ranging in styles from Dancehall reggae to rave anthems and proto-Dubstep darkness. Tracks like ‘Spliffhead’, ‘Wipe The Needle’, ‘Rude Boy’ and ‘Good Times’ were certified rave anthems back in the days. Straight, upbeat dance tunes build for partying the night away.
Listen to ‘Ragga Twins Step Out’ here.
Tricky Goes Back To His Roots: Tricky ‘Knowle West Boy’
‘Knowle West Boy’ is Tricky’s attempt at doing an autobiographical album about the and time he grew up in. I can hear echoes of Roxy Music, The Specials, New Wave, Reggae and more. It makes for a fascinating caleidoscope of an album, but it also results in a very mixed bag of songs. You’ll probably end up liking some and hating others.
Listen Now to samples of ‘Knowle West Boy’ and download the album on iTunes.
Hard Rock With A Japanese Twist: Boris ‘Smile’
Japanese power trio Boris play Hard Rock with one sneaker planted firmly in the 1970s and the other in the Post-Punk world of Husker Du and Black Flag. ‘Smile’ is a great guitar record if you are looking for something slightly leftfield with plenty of ‘oomph’.
Listen now to Boris’ ‘Smile’ and download the album from iTunes.
Beck Returns With Lacklustre Album: Beck ‘Modern Guilt’
Songs are left sounding half-finished, flitting between Beck’s established post rock sound and 1960’s pop references. The music reflects the personalities at work on ‘Modern Guilt’, as Beck picked Danger Mouse of Gnarls Barkley fame as producer. You could argue that Gnarls Barkley’s is big on sound and lacks consistently strong songwriting which is where Beck can pitch in. Unfortunately, this does not quite work out on the album.
Listen now to samples of the tracks on ‘Modern Guilt’ and download the album from iTunes.
