The Aggrolites - Reggae Now!

Pirates Press Records

 

I don’t like ska that much and honestly, I like reggae and rocksteady even less. But there obviously are some exceptions to this - not so strict - rule. Coincidence or not, a handful of the bands that I do enjoy were at one point in their career involved with Hellcat Records - Hepcat, The Pietasters (“Willis” is one of my favorite records in general actually), The Gadjits, more recently The Interrupters and of course, the dirtiest of them all - Los Angeles’ The Aggrolites!

 

In all honestly though, I’ve lost sight on this band after 2009’s album “IV” - their last for Hellcat Records and, as I learned while writing this review, their last ‘real’ studio-album in general - as 2011’s “Rugged Road” feels more like a compilation of 45’s the band released in 2010 and 2011 on the Young Club label. Until now obviously, because a decade after “IV”, the band releases album number ‘V’ “Reggae Now!”, which is record number ‘I’ for Pirates Press Records.

 

Hopefully many more will follow though, because fuck - this is good! Straight from the opener “Pound For Pound” you get sucked into The Aggrolites’ aggro-reggae-sound, providing the perfect soundtrack for long summer days, run-down neighborhoods, sweaty dance halls - or a combination of the three - all around the globe! I kind of forgot how much I liked this band - this just happens sometimes, but tracks like “Say Or Do”, “Groove Them, Move Them”, “Hurry Up”, “Love Me Tonight”, “Invasion”, “Why You Rat”, “Help Man” and “Aggro Reggae Party” (the latter two are re-recorded versions of the same two songs that were released on a 45 by Lonestar Records in 2016) quickly reminded me that The Aggrolites were killing it back in the 00’s and that they are still killing it until this very day!

 

With all the basic rhythm tracks recorded in a single day, the sound of “Reggae Now!” is very pure and old-school, and as you might have concluded out of my previous paragraph - very good as well. Besides the music, the firm, hard-nosed vocals of front man Jesse Wagner are as always sublime and highly preferable, though I have to add that I don’t mind the few instrumentals that this LP is rich for a single bit.

 

Comeback or not, The Aggrolites are definitely back on the map with the fairly brilliant “Reggae Now!” - filled with 14 scorchers and 48 minutes of hard, aggro-reggae! Love it.