Tunes From the Missing Channel

Dub Syndicate was basically the house band for Adrian Sherwood’s ground-breaking avant-reggae label On-U Sound. Although its membership shifted somewhat over time, it was built on the drums-and-bass foundation of Lincoln “Style” Scott and Errol “Flabba” Holt (also the mainstays of the legendary studio band Roots Radics). Dub Syndicate provided backing tracks for many singers and instrumentalists who worked out of On-U Sound, but also released a steady string of outstanding albums on their own, of which this 1985 release is one of the best. It showcases the two essential elements of the Dub Syndicate sound: the elephantine grooves of Scott and Holt, and Sherwood’s adventurous dub mixing style. Highlights are tough to identify on such a consistently excellent album, but certainly Andy Fairley’s creepy cameo on “The Show Is Coming” counts as one, as does the bustling, organ-driven “Geoffrey Boycott.”