Titus Twelve - Dig and Delve (Planet Terror)

And on todays menu we have a big steaming dollop of heavy, and at times quite lyrical, Dub, which is always a fine dessert course at Christmas time. Titus Twelve has offered up a full length album of very electronic Dub which dwells on the darker side of music, full as it is of sinister, dark beats which send the unwary listener scurrying for a nice warm corner to hide out in for the duration. So, success on that front at least.

As to its credentials beyond that initial point, well they actually stand up fairly well. There's plenty of potential for a properly immersive listen here, which is usually the main point of anything which is even vaguely Dubbish. If you can drag the audience into it all and keep them at least slightly entranced by what you're doing then it's working and Titus Twelve does a fine job of that.

Perhaps there is a slightly overpolished edge here at times, which doesn't lead to an overall false experience given that the emotional state that the music can foster is entirely organic but if you get caught out listening as a purely aesthetic experience then there's a certain immediacy lacking in the sound. Of course that's a fairly routine aspect of Dub which doesn't plant itself firmly on the Reggae side of things and take advantage of the instrumentalism and rawness which that can offer but as forgivable, and often ignorable, as it is the point stands.

The more lyrical tracks which edge delicately towards Trip Hop are in step with the edgy darkness of the sound. They offer a decided, tenuously literary, progression through certain tracks and in parts the whole effect comes together beautifully although perhaps not always entirely consistantly. Those stand out tracks really do stand out though, especially 'Mr. Morningstar' which is both an unnerving and compulsive listen.

So, ultimately well worth a download if you're in the mood for Dub or even if you've just got a penchant for the more abstracted peripheries of lyrical Trip Hop, although don't expect an easy listen from it.

Download 'Dig and Delve' (Direct Download)