Cian Finn ft. Max Romeo - This Applies
★ ★ ★
"It doesn't matter if you're black," sings Cian Finn. "It doesn't matter if you're white." When it comes to reggae, not everyone is quite unanimous on that point. A pasty Irish guy with dreadlocks singing in a fake Jamaican accent, frankly, sounds like the reason why your friends banned you from ever dragging them to the Trenchtown stage at Electric Picnic again. But in fairness to the west-of-Ireland rasta, he has assembled a pretty crack band of reggae musicians to accompany him here. None more impressive than the man who duets with him on the album's title track This Applies - Max Romeo whose Lee Perry-produced 1976 album War In Babylon album is one of the all-time classics of the genre. A heavyweight endorsement, by any reckoning.
You can learn more about the Irish reggae scene in this interview with Dirty Dubsters' Jay Sharp and Bazza Ranks.
Chance the Rapper - Family Matters
★ ★ ★ ★
Cover versions are almost unheard of in hip-hop, but Chance the Rapper has been performing a version of Kanye West's Family Business (from the College Dropout album) on stage for a while, and now he's recorded it in the studio. It's a touching reflection on the things that matter in life.
All Tvvins - Darkest Ocean
★ ★ ★
"Don't have me up all night, worrying," the Dublin synth duo implore on this new track. They'll be dispensing more Irish Mammy-esque gems at the Academy, Dublin on November 20th.
One Direction - Perfect
★
If this One Direction video, rush-released to counteract negative publicity around the cancellation of a concert in Belfast last week, were an American presidential primary stump speech, you'd call it red meat for the base. A doughy, romantic ballad custom- designed to appease the band's doughy-brained fans. But the image of the boys moping about in anonymous hotel rooms does nothing to dispel impressions of an act just running the clock down before next year's "extended break".
