The Drop - Last Stand (Shoal Records)

The Drop's sound, a mix of roots, rocksteady, dub, jazz and soul, leaves a lot of room for King's guitar influences (think Jimi Hendrix and John Frusciante) and Dandelion's soulful voice. Asked about the content of the songs on 'Last Stand', Collier replied: "It's almost my life's work to date, lyrics I wrote about the course of becoming a singer - so it contains quite a lot of subjects, but looking at all the songs together I can see there is an emphasis on the struggle; maybe drawing a loose line between the personal, national, and global struggle we all face". For the recordings at Konk Studios, The Drop collaborated with sound engineers Nick Manesseh and Daniel Boyle (Max Romeo's 'Horror Zone', Lee Perry's 2014 album 'Back On The Controls' and the forthcoming 'Black Album'), and the final mix was done by Hempolics/Faithless sound engineer Robbin 'Grippa' Laybourne. Our favorite tracks on 'Last Stand' are mainly dubby songs like 'Avatar', 'Business Face' or the great 'Parakeets In London' (even though the more up-tempo tracks like 'Vanity' or 'Right Through' could absolutely convince as well), and with 'Dunna Runna' Boyle once again proves he knows exactly how to handle Lee Perry. Another excellent addition in the British reggae scene!