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TWILIGHT CIRCUS Legendary Pink Dots bassist Ryan Moore (aided with some known and some uncredited musicians) takes a break from his group's psychedelic/progressive musings for a fun exploration of dub music. The album is short and sweet, clocking in at about 35 minutes, but Moore focuses his efforts on shorter quality works with melodic empetus, unlike the many recent dub-influenced ambient and dance records which just loop endlessly and never progress. I generally have not been a huge fan of dub music. Despite my taste for good psychedelia, the stoner aesthetic behind reggae - despite employing socially conscious lyrics at times - has always seemed a little too blissful, obvious, and, well, aimless. But a recent crop of ambient dub has caught my ear, and on this album in particular, the music is spiced with other flavors: the Indian vocalizations and tabla on opening cut Salma being a good example. Felafel opens with some catchy hand percussion, which is soon accompanied by a slow groove, intermittent Indian vocals, tranquil flute, and a simple piano line falling on the off-beats. Within some songs, Moore douses the percussion in reverb and brings in spacey keyboards to fill out the sound, giving the upbeat music a more mysterious side and thus more depth. The deep listening vibe of Woody is proof, with its bass buried in the mix and washes of synthetic sound cycling in and out of the mix. Throughout *Other Worlds of Dub*, the composer/multi-instrumentalist maintains freshness via use of different percussion, keyboard textures, and varying bass lines. This is a solid effort which should attract fans of dub as well as neophyte listeners eager for something new. (M Records, distributed via Soleilmoon, P.O. Box 83296, Portland, OR 97283) Review by Bryan Reesman |
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