Salmonella Dub is an New Zealand band that makes a sort of dance music that veers between reggae and something else -- illbient dub pop, maybe, or post-electronic trance rock. All right, let's play spot-the-influence: there's a touch of
Midnight Oil's minor-key portentousness and more than a touch of
Adrian Sherwood's bass-heavy, dub-crazy mixing approach; when they get seriously into the one drop, they give UB40 a run for their money (and yes, that's a compliment). "Crazy 80's" is a long, dark look into a desert wasteland populated by echoey bass and reverbed drums; "Peyote Dub" is similar in mood, mostly instrumental and sounds as if it's meant to accompany (or facilitate) mystical visions. Then there's the very heavy "Johnny," in which the band warns a credulous young man away from a devious woman, accompanied by an elephantine bassline, eerie horns and dubbed-out guitars. Very nice.