Salmonella Dub - FreakController

Mon 8th Mar, 2010 in Music Reviews

This is studio album number seven for New Zealand’s Salmonella Dub and after some line-up changes over the last few years they have now settled into what sounds like their most natural sound. Gone are the extremes like the acoustic reggae-lite pop songs and the pounding drum n bass anthems. Instead they have focused on their strengths of groove and simple catchy melodies and for the most part it works a treat.

The early 90s jungle groove of Restless Soul doesn’t open the album strongly as it sounds like Salmonella by numbers. It is too passive and lacks the depth or hook that the band has made their name with. Cut to track two and Up & Running is exactly as it says – it makes Restless Soul sound like a warm up before kick-off. The bass is fat, round and rolling and its an automatic head nodder with guest vocalist Mana Retimana dropping rhymes over the top in a laid back Q-Tip drawl.

There are a couple of other misfires on Freak Controller. Walk Into Your Mind veers off into rock structure and sound and lacks the subtlety and restraint that the best moments all have on the album. First single Freak Local is undeniably catchy and almost works but its skanking groove just doesn’t quite feel right amongst the other songs.

Rhythm & Pattern rights the wrongs and conjures up an original roots reggae sound with Mighty Asterix’s sweet croon riding the horns and dubbed out keys and guitar. Its a low down and hazy vibe that will no doubt be a smokers delight and a tripped out moment that will be a slow and swaying treat live.

With the addition of Paddy Free both as one of the producer/engineers (alongside Ants and Guy Benfield) and as a musician on the keys, there is a real sonic solidity to the sound on the album. Bombastic in particular benefits hugely from the use of space and atmosphere that Free has mastered with his main dub techno project Pitch Black. In fact space is something that Salmonella Dub have embraced across most of the album. The spatial elements in the music are comfortable and unhurried, mixed to perfection in that perfect dub marriage of mood and movement.

Closing track Deep In Southland is one of those songs that will raise the roof at their infamous live shows as soon as the audience hears Pete Woods’ harmonica ring out – soaked in reverb. It is a gloriously simple track built around Mark Tyler’s deep yet lightly stepping bass and that haunting harmonica that lends itself wonderfully to the dub sound. So perfectly weighted, the seven minute track drifts by like a sun-splashed memory that feels like it should and could stretch on forever.

Salmonella Dub have returned to their roots, shed the excesses that have at times been overbearing on previous albums and achieved an unprecedented depth and balance to their recorded sound that will make this a firm summer favourite. Freak Controller displays a maturity that makes compatriots The Black Seeds sound like students and it is their boldest statement to date, reminding all that they are the premier organic and electronic dub outfit around.