Dub Narcotic Sound System Handclappin' CD

Dub Narcotic Sound System: Calvin Johnson (vocals, guitar, melodica); Heather Dunn (vocals, bass, drums, percussion); Chris Sutton (mini-Korg synthesizer, bass, drums).
Personnel: Calvin Johnson (vocals, guitar, melodica); Heather Dunn (vocals, drums, percussion); Gibby, B&B, Kitty Boots, Tilson, Zahava Seewald (vocals); Adam Forkner (guitar); Chris Sutton (drums).
Photographer: Krista Kay.
After a five-year hiatus following 1998's Out of Your Mind, Dub Narcotic Sound System returned to the recording scene with this four-song, 21-minute EP. The music is consistent with their past efforts: a fusion of dub reggae, funk, and rap, with some of the most nonchalantly goofy vocals and lyrics you're likely to hear on records boasting such blends. The band does play with an inviting raw looseness and some definite bottom funk. For a four-song release, it's pretty varied. "Handclappin'" has the poker-faced vocals for which Calvin Johnson's most known, "Petrolbzz (Version)" is a spacy, slightly sloppy melodica-dominated instrumental, and "Mega-Clash (Version)" is the most sonically experimental, throwing in all sorts of jazz-funk improvisation, distorted vocals, and improvised-sounding electronic effects and noises over the course of its seven and a half minutes. The standout cut, though, is "Sabley Goodness," due to the sexy yet slightly eccentric dubwise romantic spoken vocals of Heather Dunn. ~ Richie Unterberger