Dub Pistols - Worshipping The Dollar (Album Review)
Saturday, 07 July 2012
Written by Owen Sheppard
It was only back in 2008 that if you heard the word “dub” dropped in to a conversation about music that you could still expect it to evoke connotations of reggae and splashes of brass, bass and Jamaican accents. But four years later and the takeover of dub step, has all but eradicated the original meaning of the word “dub” from the consciousness of anyone who wasn’t already keen on the sub-genre.
After reforming in 2005, Dub Pistols have been releasing material on a regular basis to continued appreciation at cult level, rather than any mainstream success. But to tell you the truth, their records have been as consistent in quality as they have been faithful to the traditions of the music they adore. For a lot of the album they float between traditional dub and ska while various local London MC’s try their luck over their ever skankable beats and brass band tunes. There’s a presence of drum and bass on the record too, which afteral, is a genre which grew from the sewn seeds of dub during the late 90s.
As fore-shadowed in the album’s title, a lot of the album's guest vocal spots have been assigned to rappers with an opinion or two on politics, and as you might have guessed, none of them are particularly kind to anything remotely Conservative as condemnations of the rich suffocating the lives of the working classes are thrown left right and center, but mostly just at those on the right. The album opens with 'Alive' a single worthy number that’s reminiscent of past glories of Groove Armada, specifically their classic 'Superstylin'. The first full MC guest slot went to Akala, probably the most accomplished vocalist of those on offer here. He muses over the world-wide injustices of capitalism and the failings of politicians on 'West End Story'.
'Mucky Weekend' is a much more frantic drum and bassy affair. The track’s lyrical focus, narrated by Rodney P describes the typical night of a geezer (that’s assuming your typical geezer really does bring home strange women and get off their face on coke on most weekends) and sums up an attitude of urban boredom and indifference with the line “One day I’m gonna have kids and a wife, bit ‘till then I just wanna live my life”. A good track but when you recall some classics of the genre like songs from The Street’s 'New Pirate Material' the song is made to seem like a bit of a hum drum rehash.
With his thick East London dialect, Rodney P reappears later on 'Rock Steady' and 'Gunshot' as well, the former being much more care free but he moves on the political agenda with resentment for the seemingly inescapable culture of crime and gang culture in society and the mourning that inevitably follows.
Whatever you think about some of the vocal spots on offer, there’s no denying that Dub Pistols have their well-practiced craft of churning dub grooves, sharp melodies from the brass and pounding drum n’ bass perfected to a fine point as they switch between tempos and styles to breath a contribution of variety in to a sadly stagnating genre. Dub and Drum and Bass is arguably one with little room to maneuver for exploring new territory, but for music fans looking for an archetypal modern dub/reggae record that encapsulates all areas of the genre, blending inspirations of The Streets as much as Chase and Status or grime MCs, then here actually would serve as a good place to start before delving further.
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After reforming in 2005, Dub Pistols have been releasing material on a regular basis to continued appreciation at cult level, rather than any mainstream success. But to tell you the truth, their records have been as consistent in quality as they have been faithful to the traditions of the music they adore. For a lot of the album they float between traditional dub and ska while various local London MC’s try their luck over their ever skankable beats and brass band tunes. There’s a presence of drum and bass on the record too, which afteral, is a genre which grew from the sewn seeds of dub during the late 90s.
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