KEY POINTS:
Rating: * * * *
It starts off with its gospel chorale sounding like a lost baptism scene from O Brother Where Art Thou. It ends 15 tracks later, with swaying like a New Orleans funeral march.
In between, much of this gives you the early impression that, while Dobbyn may have gone to the London and celebrated English dub-producer Adrian Sherwood in search of a fresh studio approach, what he was looking for was actually a few thousand miles across the Atlantic.
But if it can start out sounding like an American southern soul album, it's largely a neat fit for Dobbyn and that voice of his. Especially when on Hey Stranger or on Instinct for the Blue his singing is pulled back into the shadows of the quiet late-night grooves.
And Anotherland certainly sounds great when its musical geography starts heading further afield. The brass-laden When the Water Runs Out has a touch of the Van Morrisons about it; A Long Way Across Town starts with a Marley-esque reggae lope; while Deep Calling Deep's busy tabla and wobbly- bottomed bass gives the song an infectious exuberance.
But sometimes the songs don't develop far beyond their funky-dubby beginnings - like Crosstown Static, which sure grabs the attention with its wailing harmonica and heavy brass punctuation, but then doesn't build to anything much. It's not the only song among the lengthy 16 tracks that has Dobbyn content to just groove away with his backers. And with the likes of penultimate track Miles and Miles - an oddball sketch of a tune - it's clear that this is not always Dobbyn at his song-strongest. There isn't a standout ballad like a Loyal, Welcome Home, or Beside You for one thing, though the pretty Wild Kisses Like Rain comes close.
Still, those punchy grooves, the performances and Sherwood's disarming dub-reggae spatial sense still make much of Anotherland irresistible. Long-time Dobbyn listeners will find a lot to like - but not for how good ol' Kiwi icon Dave does it again, but for how much fun it sounds like he's having mixing it up.
Russell Baillie
