J Boogie’s Dubtronic Science is something of a misnomer, as the music J Boogie (AKA Justin Boland) makes has very little to do with dub. Soul Vibrations is a much more accurate name, because on this album at least, soul is the common thread that holds things together. Boland is signed to Om Records, and has been an active member of the San Francisco musical community for over a decade. As with his debut self-titled album, Boland makes use of a number of the Bay area’s most talented vocalists, and the final outcome is a most listenable album.

Revolution features Lyrics Born and the Mamaz, and with the Quannum star doing what he does best – rapping. None of this faux Rn’B singing rubbish that has bee creeping into his solo work of late, just straight up “rebel music, big, bad bass and treble music”. Que Pasa? is a latino-flavoured joint featuring the vocals of Deuce Eclipse, who deals with the issue of race in modern San Fran. Zumbi of Zion I features on For Your Love, a definite standout on the album. Zumbi’s dextrous rhymes are offset by the horn-filled, catchy chorus and an extended trumpet solo. Together shows that Boland is equally adept at crafting floor-fillers as well as more downbeat numbers, and Inferno with Lunar Heights confirms this.

Crown City Rockers’ MC Raashan Ahmad contributes the verses on Alive. Ahmad is an MC whose style has never really appealed to me, and this track is no exception, but the slow soulful groove is hard to ignore. Jrod Indigo’s effort on the chorus is equally hard to dislike. On 1 4 U the guests are the remarkably talented duo of Ragen Fykes and Ohmega Watts. Fykes’ delicate vocals, Watts’ assured rapping and Boland’s beats are almost perfectly balanced, with some squelchy bass and ethereal synth work rounding things out. The album finishes up with Out to the Bay, a track that name-checks a ridiculous number of Bay Area hiphop artists, with DJ Zeph getting mentioned twice.

Ultimately, there’s something intangible missing from this album. It’s pleasant, but unlikely to go down as a classic album. So it might not be your new favourite album, but it’s definitely worth a listen while you wait for it to come along.