Skelly Riot, a trio from Portland, Oregon is comprised of some of the better known reggae musicians in town. The reggae and dub influence is all over this 5 song EP, yet they integrate that sound with so many other genres that the end result is a refreshing blend of melody, rhythm, texture, and emotion. The upbeat and philosophical message of reggae is found in these compositions, most notably on “La Sangre Dulce”, where singer Chris Williams, through use of a talk box asks a series of inward-looking questions (“Where will we go when there is nowhere else to run?

And here we are again. I know it is shocking to hear from me so much in such a short period of time, but life tends to happen in cycles and we are currently in a cycle of music and dance. We are also in a cycle of tension. I normally don't subscribe to concepts of astrology, but I have been noticing a trend of the seasons these past few years and perhaps there is something to it. Or maybe I just like to have as many scapegoats at my disposal as possible.

You know, Troll Scientists are really good. Their whole "thing" is massively awesome. I dig it. A lot. Their first album, Useless Science, off of Space Boogie Productions was a simply awesome. I wrote at length about it here. Troll Scientists' new album takes that same awesome and does something even more awesome with it. Seriously. It is, the Last Train to Awesome Town.

[ Note: You may download this album for free -as a zip'd file- from: gizmonix.net/tunage/kixotek_sleepdancer_full_album_320_.zip ]

Some albums simply move. They don't have to move me, or you, or anyone in particular. The music just intrinsically moves. Sometimes it isn't easy to say where it moved to, or why it moved, or where it started out, or even why it felt the need to move at all. Some albums just simply move. And that is enough.