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What pictures pop up in your head when you hear the word 'reggae'? Rastamen with big blunts and hippie girls with batik shirts and henna dyed hair? Well at least that is my first two thoughts. The third one may be Bob Marley's „legend“ record that is still one of my all time fevourites due to its unsurpassable dansity of classic hits. Bt this is not everything. There is still and has always been another kind of reggae or reggae influenced music. The were The Ruts, The Police and of course The Clash. Recently bands like Radio 4 and The Dead 60s picked up that line and now we have another band teaming up with the crew to proove that reggae is more than pot and dreads and burning down babylon. Well at least it can be if it is combined with the right other ingredients...
Jai-Alai Savant from Chicago and Philly are unable to deny the reggae basis of their songs and if you don't hear any The Police in their song that must mean you don't now that band at all (which would be a sin itself). They combine this basis with contemporary indierock standards and a solid 70s vibe. The several voices are dominating the sound in the style of vocal groups (or The Police...) but a instrumental arrangements are worth an ear as well. The guitar sound is really excellent and the drums are spied up with a little percussions. The bass sond could be a little funkier and more lively but all in all thi record sounds great.
I cannot repeat often enough how much this band reminds me of The Police in the most positive sense. Absolut Pop yet not mainstream and the final song „sugar free“ got massive hit potential!
On tour with The Flesh right now! Check dates section! [jan]
savant.paintthesky.org
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