Reggae vet Horace Andy is having one hell of a year, as Midnight Rockers, his rather spiff set recorded in collaboration with Adrian Sherwood, was released earlier in 2022. Now, with little delay, On-U Sound delivers Midnight Scorchers, a beautifully bent sound system expansion of the earlier album, and it’s a rhythm-infused echo-drenched doozy of a LP, featuring some brand spankin’ new tracks, guest toasters, and the expected deep dub instrumental versions. It’s out September 16 on vinyl (black or transparent orange), six-panel digipak CD, and digital.
Midnight Rockers is as effective a comeback album as I’ve heard in a while, though it’s not like Horace Andy had been fouling up his discography with a stream of crummy releases. His continued work with Massive Attack had made it clear that he was still a skilled singer; it’s more that he just hadn’t put together an album that felt truly vital for a good while.
Andy’s 2004 collaboration with Mad Professor, From the Roots, was a pretty solid affair, and the same can be said for his 2007 team up with Sly & Robbie, Livin’ It Up. Again, nothing I heard that was released between Livin’ It Up and Midnight Rockers stank up the joint exactly, but neither did any of it prompt repeated listens.
Midnight Rockers establishes a fresh dip into the collaborative well, documenting Andy’s first studio encounter with UK producer Adrian Sherwood, with the results far exceeding expectations, in part because Andy is in such fine, inspired voice. Midnight Rockers is indisputably Andy’s album, but contrasting, Midnight Scorchers puts Sherwood squarely in the driver’s seat, although Andy’s presence is still very much felt.
It’s a companion release that’ll hit dub fans right in their sweet spot, and right from the start, as opener “Come After Midnight” blends funk guitar with interjections of cello and elements from the Midnight Rockers cut “Try Love.” And in a sly twist, Midnight Scorchers’ finale “Hell and Back” is a melodica-laced and effects-drenched version of the prior set’s opener “This Must Be Hell.”
But it’s the title track that’s the immediate grabber, a tripped-out version of Midnight Rockers’ cover of Massive Attack’s “Safe From Harm,” which welcomes MC Daddy Freddy, who’s also heard on “Dirty Money Business” (an expansion upon Rockers’ “Easy Money”) and “More Bassy” (a version of “Mr. Bassie”).
“Dub Guidance,” a sound system riff on Andy’s earlier song “My Guiding Star,” features the MC Lone Ranger, but that’s it for the guest toasters, with the restraint in this regard strengthening the album by keeping Andy sensibly in the foreground. His voice also shines in “Dub Guidance” and he sings up a storm in “Away With the Gun and Knife,” with Sherwood giving his vocals the occasional echoey tweak.
“Sleepy’s Night Cap,” a mildly Augustus Pablo-like instrumental take on Rockers’ “Rock to Sleep,” allows Sherwood and his assembled crew to shine, while “Feverish,” a version of Andy’s “Fever,” is the set’s most up-tempo workout, with Chris Petter’s trombone a highlight. “Ain’t No Love In the Heart of the City” extends the album’s thematic reach, but Midnight Scorchers’ most impressive quality, along with Andy’s singing, is Sherwood’s consistently inventive execution, with nary a trace of autopilot.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
