Bedouin Soundclash - Sounding a Mosaic [2004]

Posted on August 22, 2008 | Category: Disco

Kingston, Jamaica? No, mon, that’d be Kingston Ontario. As in Canada. As in wind chill, blizzards, and block heaters. And trust me, when Toots Hibbert sang about a "Funky Kingston" there was nobody getting the two towns mixed up. Yet as unlikely as it may seem - especially given the fact that Bedouin Soundclash played among all the trendy screamo bands on this summer’s Warped tour - these Canuck kids do the reggae like they stepped straight outta Trenchtown.

"Sounding A Mosaic" was produced by Darryl Jennifer (of DC hardcore legends the Bad Brains), and he does an ace job of maintaining that sense of lazy space featured in all great reggae. Everything bobs, slinks, and hops with an unhurried, heavy-lidded pace, perfect for power-lounging on a tropical beach (or, given their citizenship, maybe a particularly muggy kitchen). Singer Jay Malinowski’s voice resembles Bob Marley, but the band lays down grooves more similar to the reggae-lite of Jimmy Cliff, with a few overtones of dub and an appropriately distant element of Two-Tone ska. For extra cred, they do a version of the Maytones’ "Money Worries" that features Vernon Maytone himself on vocals. Not that they needed the help, as the lead-off single "When The Night Feels My Song" is so feel-good melodic that Johnny Nash probably would’ve eaten his own head just to have it as a followup to "I Can See Clearly Now."

Full Album Tracks Listing
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1. When The Night Feels My Song
2. Shelter
3. Living In Jungles
4. Money Worries
5. Gyasi Went Home
6. Shadow Of A Man
7. Jeb Rand
8. Criminal
9. Murder On The Midnight Wire
10. Music My Rock
11. Rude Boy Don’t Cry
12. Immigrant Workforce
13. Nothing To Say
14. Money Worries (E-Clair remix)
15. Rude Boy Abroad (Lazare Breakdub)

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