Rafi's Revenge

Songlines is 20 years old, but this album is 21, and it's now receiving a welcome reissue, bolstered by Under the Influence, a second disc of rare, unheard and remastered tracks selected by Adrian Sherwood. During ADF's prime they were one of the UK's most exciting acts, and their 2016 appearance at WOMADelaide revealed that they were still in good form. Even so, Rafi's Revenge has lost some of its raw power over these two decades, but this might be due to the mind's ear comparing it with subsequent ADF live extremities. Their speciality is a taut slamming, with repeated beat escalations and guitar explosions, ramming together drum'n'bass, rock, rap and dub. Each of these styles might rise to prominence on particular songs, but most are present all of the time to some degree.

Sherwood's collection of extras is often more gripping and extreme, particularly his own dismembering of ‘Naxalite’, with ruptured drums scattered across the soundfield in a radical evisceration of the music. There's Audio Active's skanking remake of ‘Culture Move’, the gritty electronic surge of ‘Digital Underclass’ and a very different version of ‘Hypocrite’.