Dub Trio
New Heavy

The Dub Trio is an almost unknown band in Italy, having gained a little notoriety due to their friendship with Mike Patton and participation in the pop project of the former Faith No More member. This New Heavy is their second work and is based on the interaction between more hard-rock moments and a wise use of echoes and reverbs: one might think of illustrious predecessors (Clash above all) if it weren't for the fact that the three New Yorkers mix the two genres (plus a thousand other influences) and do not simply alternate them (as, for example, the seminal Bad Brains did).

It starts with "Illegal Dub", an intro that merges Battles and the more Jamaican Jah Wobble. It is followed by "Not Alone" and it's a revelation: helped also by the eclectic Patton (on vocals) it seems like Faith No More have returned with a big single, perhaps produced by the bespectacled Mad Professor. The album continues with excellent post-hardcore insights and a copious psychedelic use of dub: the instruments intertwine sinuously, creating delicate moments of reflection and explode thunderously as if Thurston Moore has arrived, yet once again they are lulled by the soft and dreamy groove. Thus, "Table Rock Dub" can sound sweetly post-rock and the subsequent "Jack Bauer" thunderously noisy, while "Sunny I'm Kill" brings to mind the best works of Augustus Pablo in punk-era London.