November 30, 1999

Spiders Web

You either like the idea of rinky-dink experimental dub reggae made in a Hackney garret by a fellow who used to be Tim 'Hippy Chick' London, or you'd rather surf in caustic soda.

7 / 10 There's no Catch-22 to this situation. You either like the idea of rinky-dink experimental dub reggae made in a Hackney garret by a fellow who used to be Tim 'Hippy Chick' London, or you'd rather surf in caustic soda. We're rocking the former option.

/img/Yossarian1299.jpg As far as whimsical dub sketches go, the eight-odd tracks that make up this mini-LP are splendid gear. This time around, Yossarian's ditched much of the cantankerous junk-shop electronics of his recent 'Elegant Time' LP, flexed his nodding muscles, and spaced out.

'Pea Soup Dub', for instance, is just that: some salt-shaker shimmers, digital fizz and erratic cymbal slaps floating in a thick bass fog like you might find in a Jamaican studio circa 1967. Mostly, though, 'Spiders Web' is strung between Pole's obscure digi-dub paranoia and Clinton's loving, Fisher Price disco.

There are keyboards disguised as kazoos on 'Cracksy Instrumental', and miniature washboard itches on the deranged Tango ad that is 'Spiders Web Dub', all playful and correct. For all the lo-fi fun that Yossarian's having with his kids' toys, though, there's still an undercurrent of slow-burn dread destined to muddle innards and slacken jaws. A well-spun