Album Review: Dreadzone - Nine (2024)

Craig Stephen takes a sneaky peek at the latest album release from B.A.D. breakaways Dreadzone …

This is that rare occasion when a splinter group far exceeds expectations. Dreadzone were formed when Big Audio Dynamite broke up in 1990 leaving founder and former Clash guitarist Mick Jones to his own devices.

Three of the departing members – Leo Williams, Greg Roberts and Dan Donovan –ended up in Dreadzone along with Tim Bran and Earl Sixteen. They had early, unexpected mainstream exposure when ‘Little Britain’ was an unlikely hit single in 1995. They tapped into a reasonably big constituency for reggae/dub/trip hop fusion in the UK which is boosted by their regular appearances on the summer festival circuit.

 Nine - which is naturally their ninth album - finds the band continuing to mine the source that has been so good to them in thirty plus years. There’s no straying from the narrative here, and likely to be no expectations that they would do so from their loyal fanbase.

It is their first release since the fine Dread Times in 2017 and once again is the ideal soundtrack to a punky reggae party.

This is exemplified by lead single ‘Conqueror’ which is a spiritual journey about overcoming adversity with Earl Sixteen and Spee sharing vocal duties with lyrics such as: “I see the road that I will travel, but I must take it slow/Many lessons learned along the way that I know/Watch out for plastic people, don’t let them grow/Don’t feed no egos, no no no.”

The message is that if you want to be a conqueror, you need to be a warrior.

Scan the lyric book accompanying this album and you’ll find many more messages on a similar vein. For example, on ‘Down The Road’, the band extol us to walk in the lightness and step away from the darkness. Yes, it’s a simple and well-worn message but a noteworthy one nevertheless.

Nine is both an album of reinvention and a seamless transition from previous works. It features Marlon and Blake Roberts, sons of Greg Roberts, aka Greg Dread. Bazil and Spee are also members of the band, with the latter doing the vocal work on three tracks. Vocal duties are also shared by a number of others, including American Zoe Devlin Love on ‘Magic Earth’ and one-time talent show winner Emma Gillespie on ‘Adrift’.

‘Lost and Found’ details some of the hardships and injustices that abound in the UK – and elsewhere – in these troubling times. “Can’t afford heating/Kids ain’t eating/Nurses in the foodbank/Bubble and squeaking/Ends ain’t meeting.”

Dreadzone note that leaders are misleading the people and using division to keep power in their own selfish hands. I acknowledge that this is no form of revelation and has been occurring for decades, nay centuries, but few people now seem to be stating the bleeding obvious. Britain is in a perilous state with its outrageous levels of wealth inequality. New Zealand is little better despite the ludicrous claim of a more equal society.

Song-writing duties are shared around the band but the writing credits also include former Big Audio Dynamite vocalist/film-maker Don Letts. There are eight songwriters listed on two songs, typifying the broadness of the talent within the wider Dreadzone sphere.

Nine is a fine album with a strong focus throughout. It may not be revolutionary but it certainly moves the Dreadzone cannon on one significant step. And as the world descends into lazily adopting AI to make music, it is worth noting the efforts made by people committed to making music real and to reflect their values and views of the world.