It seems the fallout from the Covid pandemic still casts a long shadow for the latest Cut La Vis LP – the excellent Low End High Life – turns out to have been yet another victim of it. Originally scheduled for independent release in 2020 as a follow-up to 2015’s also excellent debut One Step Forward, its chance of making an appearance was abruptly terminated by the ‘release’ of Covid-19 into the human population. Cue the LP’s isolation on our Dave’s hard drive. Until this month that is. And while releasing your next long player ten years after your previous one may seem like a long time, popular music is littered with examples of acts taking far longer – I’m thinking the 18 odd years between A Tribe Called Quest’s The Love Movement and We Got It From Here… – though the record (thank you, I’m here all week!) is apparently a whopping 57 years. All in all, things could have been a lot worse.
As the name implies, Low End High Life is every bit the kaleidoscopic exploration of sound system culture that its predecessor was. It takes in reggae hip-hop (superb opener Sound Bwoy Murdah feat. Seani T), Afrobeat (Money-O feat. Eegun), lovers’ rock (Walk With Purpose feat. Martin Melody), dancehall (Fulljoyment Time feat. Peppery), dub (instrumental Ghost Dub) and scattered amid further other examples of the above a couple of female-fronted reggae nuggets – the upbeat Everything feat. Maddy Carty – (a.k.a. the standout vocalist from One Step Forward) and the minor key glory of Nanci Correia-featuring closer Unity. In short, it reflects the stylistic diversity of live Cut La Vis sets and was an undertaking that took took no inconsiderable amount of time to assemble – especially given the twin demands of being a parent and, like, having a day job. All killer; no filler then and maximum low end thrills to ensure you (and the punters) get the highest of highs.
(Out now HERE)