With a past that involves work with
Soul II Soul,
Tricky, and
Rodney P., U.K. producer Anthony Alexander Campbell, aka
Dobie, has a pedigree that is as tasteful as it is stellar, but don't let those trench coat-wearing, half-tempo, and hip-hop names fool you. Even if his second full-length is as smoky, deep, urban, and rich as the above names imply,
We Will Not Harm You is welcoming and attractive, bubbling with plenty of house beats that are big room instead of back room, and sharing a cheeky sense of spirit with another one of
Dobie's cohorts,
Howie B. Ride the bleepy melody and pumping 808 drumbeat of "Blip 124" and a smile will likely emerge, while fun titles like "Stan Lee Is a Hero of Mine" (winding tribal house with a
Fatboy Slim-sized basket of samples jumping in and out) and "She Wiggles When She Walks" (
Ras G-like beat tape stuff where video game noises loop and scatter as if they were free jazz) sit on cuts that are much more meaty than expected. Crunchy grime, spicy congas, and funky Morse code are the simple ingredients for the tasty dish dubbed "Magenta," while "She Moans" remembers when drum'n'bass was just called jungle and busy dreaming up impossible breakneck speed rhythms. The album is well-paced, too, with "Somewhere Over There" and "Crunch Factor No. 5" offering a third-quarter chillout before the pressure is increased, but the one-minute joke "Skit" is surprisingly cold and unsettling, sounding like a drug-raid stuck in quicksand or a cough syrup-driven nightmare. Skip it, and
We Will Not Harm You does just what it does on the tin, and so much more. ~ David Jeffries