Dubblestandart

I’m still not sure who Dubblestandart are. They’re from Austria and play dub, obviously. Beyond that, they are subsumed, Darth Vader-style, under layers of collaborations and remixes. Is the original band still there or has the dark side of the studio taken over? The genuine article must be in there somewhere because could a machine have come up with one of the best couplets of 2006: "one time it was all about female/nowadays it’s all about email”? But vocal samples and guest appearances add much of the colour to each track rather than such words of wisdom delivered in an anonymous monotone. Lou Gehrig drives "The Message” home on top of a robo-steppers groove, whereas label-mate Ari Up livens up "Island Girl,” surpassing much of what she did on her own album last year. Musically, Dubblestandart draw from the Dub Syndicate school of future roots. Syndrum sounds and clean, robotic bass lines abound, while keyboards are timbrally related to Sly & Robbie’s equally cyborg-ian productions of the mid-’80s. The Riddim Twins contribute a couple of remixes on disc two, which I suppose is like a dog chasing its tail… Somehow, there’s a whiff of nostalgia around the project — starting with the title to the album. For all the futuristic, heavy-duty grooves, there’s a love for the ’80s (check out the hyper-compressed buzzsaw riffs on guitar!) that recalls those who have been more experimental with these songs. But, as with so much average nu-dub, a large sound system will still turn these tracks out.