A strong debut effort from one of the finer British roots acts – the mighty Aswad, a group who were big on the UK shores, but never got the same sort of international circulation as their peers Steel Pulse! Like many UK groups of the time, Aswad are nicely self-contained, different than the producer-driven aesthetic of Jamaican music – playing and writing their own material, and really coming across with a unified vibe as a result! Vocals and instrumentation are excellent throughout – and titles include "Can't Stand The Pressure", "Ethiopian Rhapsody", "I A Rebel Soul", "Natural Progression", "Red Up" "Ire Woman", and "Back To Africa". Features two bonus tracks – "Three Babylon", and "Three Babylon (dub mix)". LP, Vinyl record album

Pressure Sounds does it again, with another fine collection of mighty, mighty dub! A much needed Blackbeard retrospective collecting 16 hard to get cuts from British dubmeister Dennis Bovell, rare dubs and instrumentals, plus a couple of outstanding vocal tracks from the man at the epicenter of the British reggae scene. Focusing on Bovell's early work, this collection brings some of his heaviest productions out for the first time since their original release in the mid-seventies, all propelled by his chubby bass playing and rounded out by his deft touch on the console. 16 tracks in all: "The Grunwick Affair", "Harmoniser Dub", "Dominion Dub", "Rowing (12" version)", "Zombie Zones", "Zion Dub", "Higher Ranking", "Ranking High", "Scientific", "Shi-cago", "None Jah Jah Children (Melodica version)", "Uganda Crisis", "Ah Fi Wi Dis", "Entebbe", "Blood Ah Go Run" and "Dub'er". As always, a wonderful package, with new liner notes and photos! LP, Vinyl record album