SHOK WAVE is your weekly new REGGAE music blog. SHOK WAVE finds music that is out there in the form of Reggae, Dancehall, Soca, Ska, Dub, Reggae Rock & anything else musical with a Caribbean origin and in any language.
Here is what we found this week.......Enjoy!
SKA
BabyLove & The Van Dangos "The Golden Age"
Definitely Denmark's best ska band and they focus on the music from Jamaica of the 1960's. Their music touches the hem of his garment and the music of that era with influences from Blues to Doo Wap. The band has reached that "Golden Cage" era with their new album.
The album starts with a classic jazz influenced ska tune called 'No God Above The Bottom Line.' If you are lacking ska in your life and ears please tune into 'Never Cry Again;' it sounds like the transition between ska & rocksteady. Listening to reggae make things super mellow, just as in 'Lazy Little Me.' 'Mexiskaner' is just the opposite. It's that true upbeat sound of ska with those horns we love that gets jazzy on the solos. Then breaks down nicely. 'You have to give the people what they want, while keeping an eye on what they need.' 'Sledgehammer is that song.The title track has a different feel all around and should be named 'dead eyes and expensive shoes.' 'Old Man Trouble' is real life situation and the song sounds just like the title. 'Her Dress Is New' is classic ska that eventually breaks into a jazz solo with the great lyrics: 'the bridge is full, but she is empty, and her dress is new, but she don't feel pretty, her house is big and she gets lonely and its so sad.....' Another lonely song is 'The Cracks,' which is more of a straight ahead reggae tune. Pick it up, pick it up as does 'Bleeding Me' It's more of that rocksteady on 'You Do, So I Do,' so you know it's going to be a good day. 'No Confusion' is that instrumental ska that has an old western feel to it, in my opinion. Classic horn lines and moody with layers. I like instrumentals like this that are a bit more sophisticated. Lastly, 'Cigarette Boy' is that hustler we all know. Straightforward musically and it makes "The Golden Cage" well rounded as a ska album and is it's strength. Their music is timeless, soulful and hard working. This band is the people's band.
SOCA
Blaxx & Stalin 'Black Man'
Blaxx is keeping the old soca & calypsonian's in the spotlight. This time its Black Stalin with his classic 'Black Man In The Party' in a 2020 fashion with the voice of Blaxx.
Comments are closed.