We should all be talking about how fab the new Ward 21 album is...

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Got sent You Know How We Roll, Ward 21's 2nd album on Greensleeves over the weekend, and "lahd a' mercy", if it aint special. I'm going to do a big blog entry on it sometime this week, but it's straight into my year's top 10 so far. There's even a track with Bounty Killer with what sound like bagpipes in it! Of course there's all the usual problematic homophobia and "why did they have to say that" moments, but ethical objections aside, i'm just taken aback by this, especially the tension between its intense busy-ness and its conflicting sense of inertia/laziness: the way its rhythms flit between crystalline R&B-style rimshots and sludgy, grimy basslines with deejay flows alternately coming in torrents and dripping slow like molasses. I need to listen more, but anyone else heard this?

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Monday, 21 July 2003 12:58 (twenty-two years ago)

No ... must. listen. now!

Seriously, though ... the Ward 21 track ("Petrol") on that Soul Jazz comp was one of my most addictive musical discoveries in the past year.

The conflicting inertia/laziness you mention is a big part of why they're entertaining to me (one guy practically screaming and one guy sounding like he just woke up) plus some unbelievable production ... I could write a 1000 words on that track alone.

If any of the tracks on this album are as good as that I'm totally hooked and sold.

I'm sad to hear they've got homophobic lyrics, though. That sucks. :-(

― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Monday, 21 July 2003 13:15 (twenty-two years ago)

they're dancehall... it happens and i'm afraid it's not gonna make me stop loving this... petrol is on it, too...

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Monday, 21 July 2003 13:22 (twenty-two years ago)

woah. Loved the last album. Need to hear this soon.

― Nathan W (Nathan Webb), Monday, 21 July 2003 13:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Some audio samples are up on the Greensleeves site ... it sounds fantastic so far!

― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Monday, 21 July 2003 14:06 (twenty-two years ago)

it's wicked nathan - better than mentally disturbed by quite some distance. get onto greensleeves or i'll see what i can do

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Monday, 21 July 2003 14:07 (twenty-two years ago)

and it gets better with every listen - i like this more this morning than i did yesterday...

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Tuesday, 22 July 2003 08:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Really wanna hear this!

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Saturday, 26 July 2003 07:45 (twenty-two years ago)

one month passes...

Picked this up yesterday - sounds very very nice so far. "Something About Her" is lovely, a perfect dog-days of Summer tune. Makes up for there not being a Greensleeves Sampler this year too cos there's so much variety.

― Tom (Groke), Thursday, 11 September 2003 14:20 (twenty-two years ago)

i've just done a double review of this and wayne marshall's album - won't be on the interweb, so i'll post it on this thread either later today or tomorrow, depending what time i get home tonight. glad you like tom - they put the dancehall back in to... oh, god knows
< / smartass injokery >

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 11 September 2003 14:23 (twenty-two years ago)

i picked up mentally disturbed a few weeks ago, and totally dig it, except WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH DIARRHEA PANTS??!!

is this new one better?

― JasonD (JasonD), Thursday, 11 September 2003 15:03 (twenty-two years ago)

the new one is better by some considerable distance

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 11 September 2003 15:05 (twenty-two years ago)

hmmm, good to know.

but seriously, diarrhea pants. that shit is not cool.

― JasonD (JasonD), Thursday, 11 September 2003 15:23 (twenty-two years ago)

no pun intented

― JasonD (JasonD), Thursday, 11 September 2003 15:23 (twenty-two years ago)

i finally got it today and on first listen it sounds great but.. first album was much better, more dirty, if I have to say 'underground'.. this is another attempt to conquer America (read: san paul, elephant man), but it's still a great album...

― xeniac, Thursday, 11 September 2003 18:41 (twenty-two years ago)

and, btw, i heard ALL the songs before (and I own the half of them), on different riddim albums... in one hand, that's good because people who are not into dancehall can hear various riddims released in the last year or two, but for people like me who heard 90 % of the 2002/3 riddims, this is not a very good news...

― xeniac, Thursday, 11 September 2003 18:45 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah fair enough point - but most dancehall albums are just comps of previously released 7s... that's a given... this is a great ALBUM! it's real special - and i think they got the mix of grime and clarity just perfect here.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 11 September 2003 21:36 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

Found a copy of Mentally Disturbed for cheep. it's awesome

― Ô¿Ô (eman), Thursday, 23 June 2005 11:17 (twenty years ago)

DIARRHEA PANTS

― The Amazing Jaxon! (jaxon), Thursday, 23 June 2005 15:45 (twenty years ago)

I think I like Mentally Disturbed a little better too, but they are both really great.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 23 June 2005 15:52 (twenty years ago)

"Petrol" is so so great.

― deej.., Thursday, 23 June 2005 16:13 (twenty years ago)

Is "Badder Than That" on U Know How We Roll? I can't remember now.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 23 June 2005 16:19 (twenty years ago)

It is. Yeah, maybe I like it better. They are both quite good.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 23 June 2005 16:21 (twenty years ago)

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