The Black Seeds - Into The Dojo

Formed ten years ago and already superstars in their native New Zealand, The Black Seeds have only now decided to turn their hand to world domination. The album's 13 tracks reveal a band both fully confident in their own (very heavy reggae) sound and possessing all the nervy energy of a brand new band, fresh off the blocks. While this sometimes leads to dull, self-indulgent dub tracks like Sometimes Dub, with musicians and instruments too caught up in themselves for comfort, over the course of the album, this sound is truly thrilling and will appeal both to those who still mourn Bob Marley's passing each day and those young hip cats who are seeking out a cool, after-hours party soundtrack, free from the mainstream and not afraid to give people that mysterious, yet strangely familiar, something different: a dub-heavy pop gem. [Jonathan Robert Muirhead]