Renegade Soundwave Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
Renegade Soundwave's third album found the group continuing to do its own particular thing, though to less attention than before (all while obvious descendants like the Chemical Brothers were on the verge of blowing up big time). Compared to their monstrous debut and the equally fine In Dub, How You Doin? is more of a subtle affair -- it's not that the beats aren't pounding when they need to be, but everything from the singing to a fair amount of the drum loops take a calmer line. Certainly a fair amount of the lower-key songs on In Dub have obvious if not always as memorable echoes here -- "Bubbaluba" coasts along much like "Women Respond to Bass," though it finds its own particular groove. The group's way around dramatic flow isn't lost, though -- "Positive ID" is a brassy slice of funk-into-techno, the title track is pretty fine, and "Brixton" is a downright stormer. Gary Asquith's roughly English vocals, as before, provide a definite calling card to the whole experience (hearing him on the sort of tribute song "John Holmes" is a particular kick). Calling him the bridge between Madness and the Streets might be a bit much, but is still an apt way to consider how he brings his own upbringing to the fore. In a smartly prescient take, the band worked in the quirky yelping bit from Serge Gainsbourg's "Bonnie and Clyde" as a sample for the song "Renegade Soundwave" itself, shortly before Gainsbourg's own revival as a touchstone for hip in the '90s. It's the band in a nutshell in a way -- always plotting its own course while plenty of other groups eventually played catch-up. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Recycling American hip-hop and British dub to form their own unique sound aesthetic, Renegade Soundwave cover a lot of territory on their debut album. Though the rapping is subpar, productions like the opener "Blue Eyed Boy" (featuring the same sample later used by Public Enemy for "By the Time I Get to Arizona") and their cover of the old English Beat classic "Can't Get Used to Losing You" reveal a solid focus on the audio terrorism possible from sampling. Soundclash also includes Renegade Soundwave's charting single "Probably a Robbery" and the title track from their previous EP Biting My Nails. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In Dub is a double album featuring versions of several previous tracks plus much new material recorded with the assistance of Flood and Holger Hiller. Selections like "Thunder," "Transition," and "Deadly" are skeletal echo chamber rhythm tracks devoid of much melody or effects, though "Holgertron" does sample the Dr. Who theme with panache. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
