Review: Dobie or not Dobie?

DOBIE or not Dobie? To be honest, I could take him or leave him if judging by his latest LP, We Will Not Harm You.
Dobie has been close to the beating heart of black British music for decades now, what with working on Soul II Soul’s first two albums, producing London Posse, releasing solo work and remixing everyone from Bjork to Massive Attack to Les Negress Vertes to Tricky to Gangstarr – so it’s no surprise that this album is all about the rhythms.
There’s the jazzy drumbeats of Stan Lee Is A Hero Of Mine, the dark and heavy bass beats of She Moans, the junglist The Chant – every track is driven by a drum.
Melodies are simple, bassy, dark and brooding, and vocals are practically non-existent, as unlike some of his previous solo work Dobie’s studio magic conjuring beats totally takes the forefront throughout.
As a result We Will Not Harm You is a solid if not spectacular solo effort – but if it’s just straight-up rhythm work your after, Dobie is hard to beat.
3/5