New Age Doom

★★★★

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Guide To The Universe WE ARE BUSY BODIES. CD/DL/LP

Tempestuous union of drone jazz daddios and late reggae mad scientist.

An undisputed roots/dub reggae visionary and gamechanger, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry relied less on his genius and more on his madcap reputation after torching his Black Ark studios in 1983. If 2019’s Adrian Sherwood collaboration

Rainford debunked some more cartoonish myths, this tempestuous yet spaced-out team-up with Canadian drummer Eric J Breitenbach and multi-instrumentalist Greg Valou is even more restorative. Their high horns, low drones, trippy dubs and synthscapes envelop Perry’s raspy incantations – calling through the drumbeats and feedback, part of the mix, never its star turn – as they summon a sonic storm alongside Donny McCaslin and Tim Lefebvre from Bowie’s Blackstar band. Grand, unsettling, and a fitting finale that propels The Upsetter to a higher plain. Andy Cowan