Dub Narcotic Sound System

Calvin Johnson's American "dub" band is pretty groovy some of the time.

See Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Halo Benders, Beat Happening, Calvin Johnson

Information: K Records
Suggested first purchase: Out of Your Mind

Boot Party (1996) -- A decent, odd collection of "dance" stuff or whatever, with "Monkey Hips and Rice" and "Shake-a-Puddin" being the standouts. C

Out of Your Mind (1998) -- A decent little record when you're in the mood for messy dub rock whatever that is. The best tracks are "Wicked Bad," "Teenage Time Bomb," "Shock Mount," and the wonderfully charming "Out of Your Mind." Lots of the rest of the tracks bog the record down in semi-boring grooves. C

Sideways Soul (1999) -- The subtitle of this album is "Dub Narcotic Sound System Meets The John Spencer Blues Explosion in a Dance Hall Style!" That really makes this neither a DNSS album nor a JSBX album, but a brand new band, and it's a band that actually works better than the regular Dub Narcotic (though maybe not the Blues Explosion). The album is crazy and goofy, and that's what makes it great, with superdanceable songs like "Banana Version" (with the mantra, "The music ain't loud enough: banana!") and "Fudgy the Whale." As is the case with lots of Dub Narcotic, it sometimes just gets old after a while, but this one is the freshest so far. B

I also plan on getting other stuff.