‘True Sound Killaz’ by The Dub Righters (EP)

The Dub Righters: the three-piece gel well, bouncing off each other’s talents to create a huge sound

Warm your bones with some righteous dub-reggae that will provide a sense of summer you don’t get with other records

There are three genres that when blended you know good times will ensue. Those genres being punk rock, reggae and dub. Basslines that turn the body to jelly as legs start kicking around involuntarily; offbeat chord progressions and classic rock-reggae drums are essential to any decent party, by order of The Dub Righters. Like their peers and predecessors, such as New Town Kings, The Filaments, and Sublime, The Dub Righters are continuing to draw influence from reggae, punk and two-tone.

The three-piece gel well, bouncing off each other’s talents to create a huge sound. Their songs document life growing up in London as a punk, while also taking an anti-sexist, anti-racist and anti-fascism stance. Life Is For The Living is a prime example of the themes found on the EP.

Boombox showcases the band’s love of reggae and hip-hop, with vocalist Lawrence Harrington’s booming, gravel-voice cutting sharp rhymes from the studio to your stereo. The title track acts as a call to arms, while penultimate song Death Bed Regrets provides a heavy hit of dub, before Black Coffee sees out the EP with something a little more intimate.

If the first paragraph of this review was enough to peak the excitement levels, then True Sound Killaz won’t disappoint. The Dub Righters take the best qualities of their influences and refine them, before spitting out the resulting hybrid. It would have been one thing to find a vocalist who can mesmerize and charm listeners with a silky, hypnotic voice, but that wouldn’t have the desired effect these songs were written for; Harrington’s gruff vocals are key to making The Dub Righters’ songs what they are.

Verdict: Songs that put the world to rights

Dave Chrzanowski

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