Richie Spice

Just one year after In The Streets to Africa, reggae artist Richie Spice returns with Gideon Boot. Delivering his social commentary with consistently relaxed vocals and chill instrumentation, the album has shining moments but feels distinctly unfinished — more like a good jam session than a studio-produced album. Spice’s writing is decently thoughtful but after the umpteenth iteration of the hook in "Getting Harder,” the message gets lost in a mire of repetition. The vocals cut off abruptly towards the end of "Make Up Your Mind” and he seems to run out of breath and peter out at the end of others, like "Gideon Boot.” It may have just been too soon, with not enough time to write, recharge and come up with something new. Instead, we get a listenable but not overly inspiring collection from an artist with potential, if not consistent follow-through.