★★★☆☆
Ragga/dub breakbeat firebrands Freefall Collective get off on the judder of an ill-secured speaker rig or seeing a festival front row turn into a bruising melee. It’s an inferno that while big on tazing eardrums, does play by more rules than rebels normally allow, and eventually follows one true path when amalgamating sound system skanks and flat-out-the-traps breaks.
“Short Changed” rudely settles scores with rave chords having its back, and “Ganjaman” arrives with sirens blazing and hard-stepping, sub-garage beats blasting through. But the ideas aren’t always freshly dipped: “Kermit’s Crafty Coconut” for example dates back to 2007, and “Truth & Rights” and “Soul Vibration”, though loaded with bottom end and raise-ups, hit the ground running but are no groundbreakers. The raps of MC Manic are a little unconvincing (though he does a decent Chali 2na turn on the hip-hop reversal “My Space”), in charge of a dourness that’s too uptight to ride out the Collective’s energy.
You can decide for yourself whether you want the impact to constantly batter you, or if pulling back to show resourcefulness becomes necessary over time. No matter what, the bass goes on. “Noodlegun Dub” takes time out to realign in favour of a Kingston reality, and “Busted” and “About This Time” roll to show Freefall’s more chilled gameface.
File under: Black Canvas, Dub Pistols, Johnny Pluse, Jinx in Dub