Hutchy – My Time
Reviewed by Sadie O., 3/12/07
Electronic Reggae/dancehall/something other from a one-man-band production powerhouse. Michael Hutchinson (from Jamaica, now in DC) produced the whole mess, sings like Gregory Isaacs and toasts like Beenie Man. His only help is the female backup vocalists, who are a bit “modern soul” for my tastes, but not too bad… Lots of dub, a bit of glitch, some riddims that haven’t been invented yet. Really interesting stuff, no doubt!
No FCCs that I could make out, although there are a couple of tracks clearly about sex.
I love 8-10, only 12 is less than really good, IMO.
1. **bouncy somewhat uptempo bubble made of electronic bloops, lots of echo on the chorus, some on the lead vocals. Rather thin on the bottom of the mix, but still a cool riddim. Funny bit of Jamaican conversation in middle.
2. **classic roots rock skank, “version” production. Very minimalist instrumentation, but lots of fun noises.
3. **shout out intro, midtempo oddball skank, highly processed, rather “glitchy” vocals.
4. ***dubbed up like crazy midtempo skank, thick echo on the toms, straightforward singing about how “world leaders” are bad boys.
5. **random glitchy intro, then very subdued riddim, sweet vocals at very front of mix. A bit reminiscent of Gregory Isaacs, but produced on the other side of dub. Some bits of silence mid-song – you may think the CD player is acting up!
6. **midtempo skank with lots of really random electronic sounds. Another straightforward love song, apart from the whacked out production.
7. ***short random intro, then midtempo dancehall syncopation with lots of female “R&B” chorus, heavy political dancehall rap. Another really unusual production.
8. ****I don’t know what you’d call this riddim, but I’m digging it – there’s even a bit of early rock ‘n’ roll. I could do without the female urban soul vocals, but other than that it’s a treat for the ears. Mind you, it’s all about sex…
9. ****bit of electronic intro, then midtempo roots skank with “horns” – fine sound, excellent vocals.
10. ****short bit of electronics, then very noisy uptempo, almost rocksteady riddim. Love song, but lots of fun, thick, juicy riddim.
11. **big intro, midtempo roots bubble with lots of dub, very silly lyrics about what girls want.
12. *downtempo and relaxed, rather softcore skank – love song which really has every right to be shite, but falls just short.
13. ***rather uptempo, thick but inscrutable riddim, almost glitch, dancehall toast. I don’t have anything to relate this to, but it’s cool!
14. **midtempo roots skank, lots of atmospheric electronics, sweet singing.
15. ***talking intro, then uptempo bubble with chick harmonies, “horns”, thick instrumentation.