Subtitled "Big Sugar Rewind Inna Dubwise Extension" (say with Jamaican accent), Extra Long Life is brave. But wise? After all, Big Sugar's decision to play out their dub reggae fantasies on record probably won't appeal to the mainstream Can-rock following they've picked up over the years, and there aren't going to be many takers among true dub-heads, either.

The band sticks to the dub guidebook, by definition at least, supplying bass 'n' reverb drenched remixes of past Big Sugar tunes, stripped of vocals save for some occasional toasting. The result, however, falls somewhere short of the mark, failing to capture either the heady ballast and cool minimalism laid down by classic '70s dub producers (Lee Perry, King Tubby et al.), or the post-modern mindwarp of their latter-day disciples.

Even when Alkaline/Big Sugar hit on some effective chill-out sections ('Nuff Sugar), there's a harmonica-honking, keyboard noodling, guitar-laden mess just around the corner.

Big Sugar play as Alkaline at the Phoenix Tuesday.

Saturday, May 27, 2000

Big Sugar's alter ego