Dub Enforcement Agency

The mysterious Dub Enforcement Agency, who have lurked about Toronto for several years, come forth with a disc that conjures up the atmosphere of classic dub. They manage to coax rubbery textures from their heavily electronic set-up, recorded live at Holy Joe's in Toronto. The rhythms seem familiar but DEA have expanded on bass lines of years past to create more ambient textures, which feature well-processed vocal samples. The texture is all-important, because as a band, DEA aren't super hot. Bassist Mr. T. flubs the groove every so often and triggered drum sounds sometimes don't fall into place perfectly. But dub's not about perfection anyway, so the mood isn't broken when the breakdowns occur. Horns add greatly to the vibe, especially the trumpet work of el Fonz Fear and a guest appearance from Richard Underhill. With the space echo cranked up to 11 throughout, the horn players could go have a beer and come back on stage only to realise that they never actually left the dub chamber! This is a fine chill-out album that emphasises, if not always achieves, the right elements of dub.