Various – Dub Rascals Volume 1 (Little Rascal Records)

This 12-track sampler from Cairns-based Little Rascal Records collects recent output from the far north Queensland city’ digi-dub scene. Label manager Brett Caporn first appeared on our radar with his track Sizzled Dub as Spiral Sound System. Its nuanced, intricate production set Sizzled against the best moments of British down-tempo label Pork. And, inspired by its inclusion on a Cyclic Defrost promo disc that was circulated at European festivals such as Sonar last year, Caporn compiled Dub Rascal Volume 1 (he plans to make it a regular series). Musically, the set is a mixed bag of jump-up breaks, Roland TB-303 squiggles, crunchy electronics and dub. Jerry Mane’ opener, Winner Dub (“And there can be only one winner…and the winner is…dub”), makes an inauspicious start. There is little evidence of the cheekiness or shape-shifting thrill of dub, no focus on the space between the sounds. Pitched as “chill’ music, several of the tracks are closer to morning-after live jams, down-tempo amalgams of dub and whatever else, designed to wind things down after a big night. Complementing these, however, are tracks, predominantly from Caporn’ Spiral Sound System, that do work. Infinity Dub boasts dense, beguiling production and unvarnished post-punk basslines, while Pickle’ Merck-style crunch is lovely, if hardly life-changing. These rascals could do with some more tomfoolery, but there are enough ideas on offer to bode well for the northern city’ dubbed out future.