Reggae and dub have been a steady stylistic subtext of bassist/producer Bill Laswell’s playing and production throughout his career; sometimes it has come explicitly to the forefront, but more often it lurked below the surface, informing much of what he did even when the structure of his music had little obviously in common with reggae. With the band Method of Defiance, he brought his heavyweight production style and hard-rocking sound to bear on straight-up modern roots and dancehall reggae, featuring heavy roots-and-culture lyrics delivered by Hawk and Brooklyn roots junglist Dr. Israel. Every track is a killer.

– Rick Anderson