Vulture Culture

Heavy reggae grooves from Adrian Sherwood and the On-U gang, and what could well be the core of the next On-U gang – Bubblers Ogilvie on drums and Marley Wright on guitar and soulful, conscious vocals. Priest has sung with African Head Charge, Asian Dub Foundation, and others. Some of this is digi-dub with vocals (lots of electronic – and maybe a bit lifeless – riddim tracks) and some borders on metal (particularly the aggressively noisy guitar parts). The rest runs from roots to R&B to dancehall.

1. Aw, this is almost pleasant with its tropical, loping rhythm … but wait, the lyrics are about being in a dungeon, albeit metaphorical
2. Shards of distorted guitar bring this alive; chunky rhythm
3. Priest hands the mic to deep-voiced Simon Bogle for a ragamuffin recital over a slick bassline and cool slide guitar
4. An upbeat rhythm, lyrics about the slave trade
5. Eh …
6. Slower, lazy rhythm
7. Soulful, slow
8. Passably funky fast groove
9. Simple riddim, fast-talking rap, goofiness, and dub FX
10. What, my third eye? “Visionary … enlightenment.”; feel-good vibe
11. Overlapping, breakbeat-ish rhythms but dull vox
12. Urge to “rise up” … so more conscious lyrics over an easy groove; the pipe/whistle is a nice touch