A New Chapter Of Dub

Here, the grammar is shaken up and stirred, the language teased and shaped, the punctuation sharpened and emphasised in bold, the print splashed in red, green and gold. This is A New Chapter Of Dub, another instalment in a genuinely tantalizing book of revelations.

There are, it seems, two schools of thought still extant among the unbelievers which propose that (1) dub represents little more than a hastily scribbled footnote to the original work and (2) that dub is somehow strange, foreign and largely inaccessible.

In fact, both contentions have about as much basis in reality as the hoary accusation from bygone days that reggae was 'repetitive'. Well, so much for that. The only conceivable reason why dub could be considered foreign is simply because a sufficient number of The Great Record Buying Public have thus far refused the many invitations to explore – hence it artificial 'ghetto' status. Thus, it would be heartening, if slightly hopeful, to think that UB40's relatively minor coup in getting their dub manoeuvres onto the Woolworths shelves might presage a wider interest in the work of other notable exponents of the genre.

Such as Aswad. As the title suggests, the record presently under scrutiny is the dub of their most recent New Chapter album. Originally issued on CBS, Aswad have since recovered the rights to New Chapter and hence the dub's release on the Island label.

The result is a record of unquestionable power and resonance. One of the most distinctive features of dub is its continuing ability to throw up new possibilities and prompt different associations on every hearing. Such is the case with A New Chapter of Dub, which draws the veil on an eternally shifting landscape of sounds, styles and senses, covering all points between the representative polarities of Michael Rose's sax soaking the languid swing of 'Bammie Blow' and the militant rhythms whipped along by unison horns on 'Tuffist'.

New highlights emerge with repeated playings but for now my powerplay is the flute-graced 'Zion I' which flows as purely and coolly as a mountain stream and if Haircut's 'Fantastic Day' is music for the summer then 'Zion I' is that far more visceral thing – music of the summer, a definitively upful groove.

A New Chapter Of Dub confirms Aswad's status as the most thrilling British reggae band bar none. On this record The Lion of Aswad roars and snarls and whispers and sighs so… listen to the lion.