The Black Seeds: On the Sun

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * *)



It is a backhand compliment, but the Black Seeds - another outfit from Wellington supporting the theory that every second flat in Newtown comes with its own brass section - are a goodtime kind of band.

That's certainly reinforced by their second album, On The Sun, a crisp, catchy, if slightly mannered collection of dub-funk with an icing of sweet pop tunes.

Often their songs suggest they are the collections of other people's best bits. Except for the lyrics, that is - some very good singing is wasted on some very dull words throughout.

Still, it doesn't lack for variety from the big and brassy opening stomp of Tuk Tuk, through the slow-loping pop reggae of Turn It Around and ska-paced Sort It Out, the disco-damaged funk of Bring You Up, or Fire, which sits somewhere between Sly and Robbie's take on a song by the same name and Parliament's P-Funk classic Flashlight.

All that, of course, is plenty of people's idea of a good time. But some bands can get the party started without feeling the need for a personality bypass first.

Label: Capitol