Stuntin'

Album Review

Trad group the Scorchers is the latest project of former Slackers trumpeter (and now vocalist) Mush One and drummer Luis Zuluaga. Linking up with other well-known local musicians and vocalist Alicia Williams (daughter of Granville Phinnof, singer with the legendary Jamaican big band Sonny Bradshaw Orchestra), the new group set quickly to writing and recording, and Stuntin' was the result. It was perhaps a bit premature, however. Although there's no denying the band's musicianship, they're pretty loose in places, their playing sometimes lacking in clean, crisp edges. That's particularly noticeable when the group delivers up ska at rocksteady pace, for inevitably the smallest flaws are magnified, and the lack of inspiration occasionally found in the arrangements is highlighted. Some of the latter border on the simplistic, surprising for such veterans, suggesting they were in too big a hurry to get into the studio. Mush's vocals are as mushy as his name, and while plenty of early Jamaican 45s feature such warped, slurred vocals, today one fears that styling may now be an acquired taste. Williams, however, is a revelation, strong, soulful, and capable of dizzying jazz interpretations. When she steps up to the mic, all doubts fade immediately away. Musically, meanwhile, the set is quite eclectic, encompassing two Bob Marley compositions, a Burt Bacharach/Hal David hit, and in the case of "Your Only Man," the riddim to John Holt's much versioned rocksteady classic "A Love I Can Feel." The set is fueled by glorious melodies, suggesting much better is still to come. A good album, but one that doesn't live up to the members' own reputations.