JAH WOBBLE レコード& CD

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Review: Jah Wobble has taken his musicianship far and wide since he first rose to prominence in the glory days of post-punk and new wave. He's more readily associated with dub and international musical fusions than rock, but on this new album for Cleopatra he's returned his focus to the spiky energy bursts of his earlier work with Public Image Ltd. Produced with Jon Klein of Siouxsie & The Banshees, A Brief History Of Now covers a lot of ground and revels in allowing all kinds of influences in without losing focus. This is a set of kick ass rock tunes first and foremost, but there's space for subtlety and humour to make sure you know it's Wobble at the controls.

Review: Bassist, artist and (post-)punk polymath Jah Wobble is perhaps best known for his work with Public Image Ltd, but his many solo records are the real cream of the crop. Now adding to the Cleopatra catalogue, Wobble returns to drop a full-on psychic battering ram (and play on the name of a ubiquitous cosmological classic by Stephen Hawking), his Brief History Of Now. It's a dystopian album full of buzzing urgency and as ever comes packed with Wobble's latter-day spoken word segments, which rail against the contradictions of modern life. Co-written, produced and performed with Jon Klein of Siouxsie & The Banshees fame, it's a thoroughly varied project, speaking of liberation, demonic entities, and karmic retribution - somtimes in dub, sometimes not - and even throwing in a curveball cover of Wire's 'I Am The Fly'.

Review: Sound Metaphors sub label Thank You continues to explore lesser known niche records from visionary artists of the 80s by revisiting this single from Jah Wobble. 'Blow Out' is a shoe-in for any Balearic set worth its salt, pairing boxy drum machine rhythms with wistful keys and some blue-eyed soul vocal turns for a meandering ride through prime mid-decade sonic territory. Bleepy where it counts, just a little dubby around the edges and smooth up top, it's a refined, long form cut which sounds great with a modern remaster. Backed with the instrumental version on the flip, it's a no-brainer for diggers who might have balked at paying top whack for an original 85 edition.

Review: Jay Wobble is the former bassist with Public Image Ltd of course, but is also a visionary in his own right. This new album finds him revisiting some old ground: it takes him back to influential PiL 1979 album Metal Box, which he wholly reinvents with a load of new and sophisticated dub takes with all new and mind expanding production. Alongside the original tunes are two bonus cuts which are new versions of originals from the first ever PiL album. It adds up to a timelsss fusion of new and old indie and dub from this masterful guitarist.