Maybe there's some overlap with their previous catalog, but the jumble of familiar and new that fills
Iration's sophomore effort has at least one distinct advantage over their debut: it is road-tested. Recorded after a nationwide tour,
Time Bomb feels live and organically grown, and seeing as this Hawaiian rock-reggae crew lives in the jam band genre, these are certainly desirable qualities and, also, surprisingly rare. The title track, "Coming Your Way," and "Wait and See" are all delivered in versions that rival any fan's favorite live tape, while cool cucumbers like "Falling" ("We met at a concert/You were wearing Converse") benefit greatly from a little mood-setting studio production. Don't expect any heavy dread, and when the band drops a "roots" reference it's bound to send reggae purists spinning, but if
Pepper are too snotty and
Groundation are too mystical,
Iration are the reggae-rockers to pick for the smoothest of sailing. Now, was the cover artwork of
Time Bomb and
Ciccone Youth's The Whitey Album separated at birth? ~ David Jeffries