AH DUBBAH DUBBA DUBA, DUB NARCOTIC
HANDSOME Q
AH DUBBAH DUBBA DUBA, DOT DUB NARCOTIC
GOT A QUESTION
AH DUBBAH DUBBA DUBA, SHRINK DUB NARCOTIC
HANDHELD Q
GOT A QUESTION A QUESTION
TWISTED SOUND SYSTEM MAKES YOUR HAIRSICK!
A QUESTION A QUESTION!
That's my foaming, degenerate introduction to the most slappy-dap clap down "tread on boot soul!" album of Dub Narcotic Sound System. As a homunculoid daggermouth cave dwellee, I present my undying love and appreciation for your irreverent, glorious... wait a minute, what the shit. This new album sounds like the lost basement tapes from before the blizzard of '92 or something. It seems that the gang has been toying with us by presenting their Handclappin' EP as a shoogity-boogity thing unto itself, rather than a preview of the style of this full-length.
Degenerate Introduction has that gritty, dank basement ambience and contains a dusty immediacy suited for live recordings. In the call-to-arms-to-be-politically-active "Blood Flow," Calvin's voice is flanged in and out of the mix at unpredictable times, creating a strange tension to the dry-hump funkyness of the track. "Mate's Revenge" is fantastic, like that scene in Midnight Cowboy where they're at Hansel and Grettel's weird counterculture get-together. It can inspire a delirious bit of paranoia and cold chills passing for uncanny, tongue-in-cheek dance moves. It doesn't really matter that the bass line lifts the one from "Fire" at one point. It's a nice piece of retro-boho fun for families of the whole world to enjoy responsibly. Other highlights include "Code of the West" (melodica alert!!!), "I Don't Love," and "Sounds Narcotic (Pt. 2)" (two songs that are more lean and lo-fi than the band's been in awhile and tackle more of a punk-ta-funk thing).
But I have to admit, I was ready for something heavier this time around. And, after listening to both Degenerate Introduction and Handclappin', I now yearn for that something that was cracked open in the Dub Narcotic sound with Handclappin's "Mega-Clash," that was unlike anything they'd done previously. Still, the fact that they've gone the spare route puts them in a fairer state of grace than, say, Plastic Fang did for the Blues Explosion. This is serious "jam" in the best [musical] sense of the word. It's a rapturously unnerving potionswirl, staying in the clubs, basements, and on your stereo where it belongs. It’s not going to change the world just yet, but it could do a number on a certain open-minded sort of listener. As can be the case with some underground releases: don't fight it, and ye shall be released.
1. Sounds Narcotic (Smash the Record)
2. Joint Joint
3. Fuck Me Up
4. Code of the West
5. I Don't Love
6. Blood Flow
7. Mate's Revenge
8. Dub Narcotic Groove
9. Sounds Narcotic (Pt. 2)