Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad - Steady (Easy Star Records)

Their sound can best be described as a mix of roots reggae with elements from the Americana genre ('45', a song which immediately reminded yours truly of The Moon Invaders). To spice things up a bit, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad invited veteran deejay Ranking Joe, who pops up as a guest vocalist in 'Take Your Place'. 'Steady' was our first introduction to this band so we didn't really have anything to compare this album to and that's why we'll let singer/bassist James Searle describe the album: "This is without a doubt the best sounding record we've ever made, but it's also the most consistently solid set of songwriting we've done to date.". Those among you who want a taster can visit the website of the band (www.livepanda.com), where you're offered a free download of title track 'Steady'.