Twilight Circus Dub Sound System

Ryan Moore keeps coming forth with the best contemporary dub. Treading further along the path taken by 2000's Dub Voyage, Volcanic Dub presents 12 new chapters. The vibe is even mellower than previously and it's hard to imagine this music moving a large crowd, unless it's on the dance floor in your mind. As with Dub Voyage, TC is definitely about distilling rather than reinventing dub. Moore's songwriting and recording technique remains superior to anyone working in dub today; the musical content will offer you pleasure far beyond the dub treatments. But, of course, he continues to patch together a fierce array of echo. Moore has saved a specially garbled loop of tape for his space echo this time around, and you'll feel like scratching yourself all over while listening to the grainy textures of "Spacehall." Special mention must be made of the closing track, "Fams" (after Family Man Barrett?), which achieves what Bill Laswell failed to do with on the Marley remix project Dreams of Freedom. Moore could have named it "Seeco," as he nails the Wailers' percussionist's distinctive style perfectly atop a one-drop rhythm that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Kaya. Another fine record that will sound just as good in 20 years as it does today.