(Future Classic/Inertia)

The Resurrectors debut album is a collection of eight original lazy-day reggae tracks, with a bonus track remix of the lead single ‘Healing’ by contemporary Fitchie (of Fat Freddy’s Drop fame). Easy on the ear, with strangely familiar sounding melodies, the record shows the capabilities of the musicians and songwriters in this nine-piece Sydney band, without distinguishing itself as a work of greatness.

Attention was paid to capturing an ‘authentic’ sound, including use of analogue tape recording processes, but these nuances should always be secondary to the music, in my opinion. The album starts strongly with ‘Healing’ which creates a more distinctive ambience and mood than many of the following tracks. The vocal harmonies are ethereal and the lead is one of the more distinctive performances here. It’s a very chatty vibe that the song has, and this is what the Resurrectors do best. ‘Take A Little Break’ is another fine example of this, and also stands as a beautiful example of the band’s ‘less is more’ principle in practice. The subtle vocal harmonies are haunting, and the voices speak with clarity and sweet sunshine. When the singers try to up the intensity elsewhere, the softness of the surrounding instrumental mix betrays the intentions of the vocalist. ‘Visions of dreams’ could have been a ruff and ready track with the right treatment, but instead it resolves itself conservatively as a slick, jazzy number.

Giving thanks to Mother Earth and preaching love and understanding, the rhythms and lyrics are rooted in the humanistic traditions of the genre, with songs like ‘No Justice’ taking a firmer stance on a sociological tip. The two vocalists both sport African/Caribbean accents (expected of the genre) but their delivery does not vary enough in it’s tone to make this a captivating listen. Some of the tracks’ lyrics are laboured and cumbersome, and the lyrics in general lack the poetic depth or singular voice of a man like Marley or Cliff. While the bass, drums and guitar chuck away through the album with snap and punch, the horns lines without exception sap the grooves’ bounce and energy and turn them into sit down tracks rather than ‘get up, stand up’ ones.

I was spoilt by the Red Eyes’ debut single last year, and was hoping for a little more to distinguish this release from the milieu of old-school reggae imitators. The production on this release is a conservative ‘band in a room’ sound, with occasional dub-echos applied somewhat crudely. The exception to this rule is Fitchie’s ‘Healing’ remix, which leaves me wishing that he’d remixed the whole album. If you’re into the sounds of dub or reggae with contemporary electronic music sensibility you’d best look elsewhere… the Resurrectors, true to their name, have brought back that 70’s reggae sound that will satisfy the lovers of the ‘classic’ island reggae sound without breaking any new ground.