Beam Up - Innerstand [BBE Records]

It's been a while since we reviewed a Dub / Reggae-related album here on these pages but as most of our readers might know we've got a thing going for what's to be referred to as the original backbone and mother of all styles of contemporary Bass Music. So what's been sitting in our P.O. box lately? The sophomore album of Brian May's project Beam Up named "Innerstand", dedicated to the heritage of studio legend Osborne 'King Tubby' Ruddock and due for release via BBE Records on March 9th, 2015 - a thirteen track journey into super solid Dub works, vocally led by Terrence Alfonso Bowry, Jornick Joelick and Katya Tasheva, all rolling out their vocals on top of a vast variety of Dub riddims. Lovers of heavy steppers will be pleased by tunes like "Hanabi Dub" or "Fisherman", the Roots-oriented Dub-head looking for spatial, echo-busting vibes will go for "Dive" or instrumental cuts like "Divers" and "Kick Off", whilst the lover of classic, laid back Reggae will be pleased to come across songs like "No Chains" and "Travelling". "Icchieban", a conjunctional effort with Daisuke Ichihara, introduces some deep and jazzy melancholia that's fused with a dubbed out structure and with "Innocence" we even find a romantic, tender and Dub-related slow jam of a love song on "Innerstand", an album that truly represents all shades of Dub, both classical and modern, in 2015 - showcasing the everlasting fascination of echo, bass and space that's never about to grow old although the foundation for this style has been laid down more than four decades ago. Nice one.