Posted on: April 10, 2012 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

It’s an exciting week for New Zealand’s reggae-soul heavyweights The Black Seeds, as they release their brand new studio album Dust And Dirt. The 13-track project is out today on Trailblazing label Easy Star Records. Easy Star is also reissuing The Black Seeds’ celebrated back catalog today. Four of their older titles-Keep On Pushing, The Black Seeds Live Vol. 1, On The Sun and Into The Dojo-are seeing their first-ever physical release in North America. All four albums are being released digitally, with the with the latter two titles also getting released physically.

You can listen to Dust And Dirt via a stream on AOL Spinner

Dust And Dirt: Album Stream on Spinner

Dust And Dirt is the fifth studio album from the multi-platinum selling group whose unique brand of reggae-funk fusion has seen their fan base spread around the world in recent years. It follows up The Black Seeds’ critically acclaimed 2009 album Solid Ground, which was hailed as “…a damn fine record…thick, bottom-heavy, and melodic” by The Huffington Post and “…the forefront of reggae today and tomorrow” by JamBase. The album debuted in the top 15 on the Billboard Reggae Chart, spent 8 consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of CMJ’s World Music Chart, and also spent five weeks in the overall CMJ Top 200.

Dust And Dirt introduces new sounds and styles not heard on the previous releases while still retaining the trademark sound that The Black Seeds have become known for. “Cracks In Our Crown,” “Loose Cartilage,” and “The Bend” all take the experiments with funk begun on Solid Ground in new and exciting directions. “Don’t Turn Around” finds the band doing a fresh take on a disco-boogie jam full of old school funk and plenty of bouncy playfulness. The opener “Out Of Light” sounds different from anything the band has tried before, tipping into an almost psychedelic pop sound, while roots gems like “Love Me Now” and the title track remind listeners that The Black Seeds are still one of the finest classic reggae bands in the business. All of these new styles are brought into the mix in a natural way, without forcing sounds, letting the songs be mini-experiments that organically evolved. In all, Dust And Dirt’s 13-tracks are testament to a band at the top of their game, reveling in their newfound creative freedom.

The Black Seeds began their North American tour on April 5th in Los Angeles. Dates are below.

The Black Seeds – 2012 North American Tour Dates

April 10 – Victoria, BC – Club 9one9

April 11 – Vancouver, BC – Fortune Sound

April 12 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile

April 13 – Denver, CO – Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom

April 14 – Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre

April 15 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl

April 17 – Ithaca, NY – Castaways

Dust And Dirt Track Listing:

Out of Light

Dust And Dirt

Pippy Pip

Wide Open

The Bend

Loose Cartilage

Frostbite

Gabriel’s Strut Dub

Love Me Now

Cracks In Our Crown

Don’t Turn Around

Settle Down

Rusted Story

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