IV

iTunes Review

L.A.’s Aggrolites have carved a path for themselves in the relatively desolate field of contemporary American reggae artists. After three strong releases, live stints with the likes of Prince Buster and Madness, and laying down the instrumental tracks on Tim Armstrong’s delightful Poet’s Life album, the band returns here with a sly grin, daring to go a step beyond the vintage, “dirty reggae” sound they’re known for. In addition to classic Trojan Records and Studio One influences — heard on tracks like the keyboard-riffing “Keep Moving On,” the Toots & the Maytals-flavored “What a Complex,” and the glorious ska instrumental, “Musically On Top” —  you’ve got the sound of classic soul. “Tear That Falls” is what might have happened had Bob Marley and Sam Cooke hooked up in the studio, and “It’s Time to Go” and “The Sufferer” skitter along on a soul-meets-ska bed of peppery organs and bluesy vocals. Next to the lazy, sunshine reggae of “By Her Side” and the high-energy rock steady of “Runnin’ Strong,” tracks like “Firecracker” and “Wild Time” recall the soul/funk of World Is a Ghetto-era War.