On his debut as a solo artist (he was previously the frontman for the wildly successful
Salmonella Dub),
Tiki Taane does a fair job of mixing contemporary dub and electronica beats with some more relaxed sounds, some chill-out tracks, and a dose of Maori chanting here and there. With a dub past, it's perhaps not surprising that a healthy proportion of the album is focused on dub and its relatives -- even the acoustic guitar base of "Always on My Mind" has a roots reggae bounce to it. While his reggae and dub pieces are strong, they get rather monotonous as the album plods along. After the massive energy of the converted warrior haka-turned-dance intro "Tangaroa," the sudden switch to relaxed tracks is something of an energy letdown.
Taane comes back to more energetic forms now and then, as in the
Prodigy-like "Wotcha Got." For the most part, though, it seems
Taane is simply exploring his studio effect, noodling around until he hits a groove he likes. That elusive groove is great when he finds it, but most listeners will just get the noodling. ~ Adam Greenberg