(08.14.05) Dub trio make music for kids that like to color outside the lines, and
Exploring the Dangers Of finds every hidden aspect and every rubbery note
of it colored with radioactive Crayolas. The trouble is their focus is
preoccupied with saturating everything with shades of Burnt Sienna and
nothing else, which can be a good thing and a bad thing at the same time.
The jam-style direct-to-tape approach is nothing new, but I tip my hat to DP
Holmes, Stu Brooks and Joe Tomino for having the skills to coax a full-scale
sonic assault from only three live musicians throughout the course of the
album’s eight tracks. From “Drive By Dub” to “Sick Im,” Dub Trio serve up a
salty/sweet stew of reggae, jazz and electro that does have a little certain
something extra, especially on the aptly named “Fur Boots on the Party
Moose,” but even then, the interesting combination of these ingredients
can’t justify going back for seconds; just skip ahead to dessert and then
hit those mutated coloring books again.
With the promising experience of recently touring with Meat Beat Manifesto under Dub Trio’s belt, I
confidently suspect the vast variety of other colors in that toxic 64 color
box won’t have to worry about collecting glow in the dark dust much longer.
Exploring the Dangers Of is out now on ROIR.
