Midnight Rocker

Age undoubtedly has taken some of the sweetness from Horace Andy’s voice, meaning where once he could sugar-coat his message, crafting social vignettes in the vein of lovers rock at times, there is now a directness, no doubt amplified by his own authority as a singer. On ‘Materialist’ and ‘Easy Money’ he rails against capitalism, the latter of the two the catchiest melody on the album; ‘Today is Right Here’ is a plea to live for today, against his mother’s own advice; and ‘This Must Be Hell’ a spiritual reckoning on today’s lack of humanity.

His message throughout is given serious backing by producer Adrian Sherwood and his On-U Sound players, adorning all songs with pulverising bass, sparse drums and an intriguing blend of instruments. On ‘Safe From Harm’, a cover of a Massive Attack song (who Andy has collaborated with), this means a relentless bassline and squelchy synths, whereas ‘Try Love’ features strings, piano and a variety of keyboards dropping in and out of the sonic picture. Best is the final track, ‘Mr Bassie’, a heavy dub floor-shaker with a jaunty melody that brings back great memories of going to reggae sound systems in the early 2000s.