Bleep

Successful New Zealand dub pioneers ready their fourth studio album Drop Bays, following the acclaim 2013 Blackbird LP. As always, the myriad of genres they seam to so casually and seamlessly fuse is staggering, drawing on tints of reggae, jazz, soul and techno and processed with a rich, warm dub touch. Sultry funk notes open on ‘Wairunga Blues’, followed by the horn-rich ‘Slings & Arrows’ and off-beat reggae guitars of ’10 Feet Tall’. From here, things turn noticeably more rhythmic and electronic, with the soulful synth chords on ‘Wheels’ reminiscent of Carl Craig’s more melodic moments, followed by the introspective, polyrhythmic beauty of ‘Makkan’ before reverting back to the Detroit school of thought on the stomping ‘Cortina Motors’.