Yo, Windrush The Show

Whether you like this record or not, you have to agree that Dubwiser is a corking band name.  It's a good record, though it could be a bit dubbier.

DUBWISER – THE EMPIRE WINDRUSH (self-release) 

It’s only about 20 minutes since Dubwiser’s last EP, yet here they are again, slipping out a four-tracker to coincide with Black History Month. The tracks mostly use personal histories to highlight the ups and downs of racial integration (or lack of it) in twentieth-century Britain, proving that a human story will nearly always make a point better than a political harangue. The title track focuses on a single woman sailing to the UK on HMT Empire Windrush, but your ears will focus on the fantastic horns borrowed from Birmingham band KIOKO, especially the stretching-taffy trombone. The vocal melody is unexpectedly old-fashioned and romantic – the opening notes sound as though they’re going to go into ‘It Started With A Kiss’ - and ‘Amazing’ is similarly easy to hum along to, celebrating one of those unsung female heroes every family can point to. ‘Johnny’ is just as close to home, about the father of two of the band members, who hailed from Sierra Leone and flew in the RAF in World War II. It’s a funky reggae shimmy, and if the vocal sometimes grasps for the big notes, the emotion is palpable. ‘Take Down Colston’ advocates, as the name suggests, for the removal of the statue of the Bristol slaver...which is a great sentiment, though you do wonder whether Dubwiser know this already happened!  The lyrics might not be subtle, but the track may take the musical crown, with some gritty left-hand clav lines worthy of The Wailers’ great Earl “Wya” Lindo. If we get another Dubwiser EP next month, you won’t hear us complaining.