Passafire Are Tangled In Vines

If reggae can rock and rock can reggae than Passafire are the reigning kings of the ability to do both. Their album Vines is the perfect blend of hard alternative and reggae blended in a 90's sort of way. They're a bit funk metal, a bit reggae and at times more Chili Peppers than Flea could hope to be. These guys bring a California vibe to the island sound and despite not being from either place Passafire make it all work and sound like they were stranded on an island w/instruments to keep them entertained.

Vines veers from being heavy and crunchy one minute to becoming chilled out, dubbed out, and lost in a haze the next. This record is straight out of the 90's hard alternative scene and gives Sublime a good run for their money with the whole American reggae thing. Truth be told Vines isn't half bad and despite it's retro feel, I believe the record works because Passafire have stumbled on the perfect combination of darkness and light, heaviness and mellowness, and crunch with catchiness. As a result of this delicate balance nothing ever sounds stale or too far into one musical genre and Passafire skirt the edges of it all like a tightrope walker.

Far from a cliche reggae record, Vines proves that reggae is a flexible genre and can genuflect in ways you might not expect. This is the perfect Spring Break record that every frat boy and college kid needs to have in his collection by March!

Pass On Passafire

Who would have ever thought that Sublime would have a continuing influence on music? As someone who thinks that Sublime was nothing but an average band who was a victim of a tragedy, it amazes me to no end that this band has such an influence over so many people. But they do and there are packs of frat boys that think that next to artists like Bob Marley, Sublime are gods. One such group of people is the Savannah, Georgia group Passafire.

Sounding like a middle of the road interpretation of a jam band crossed with some reggae, Passafire's album, Everyone on Everynight is the greatest beer bong soundtrack recorded this year. Obviously being from the tropical oasis of Savannah has allowed these guys become in touch with the true spirit of reggae music and allowed them to write songs that sound like the best things Peter Tosh never recorded. NOT. Everyone on Everynight is so incredibly average and boring that any inkling of what makes reggae good was left back at these dudes frat houses.

While I'm not the biggest fan of reggae in general (dancehall and dub are another story), it's easy to spot something truly original and good as opposed to something that's so rooted in a suburban American interpretation of what reggae is. Passafire are the spitting image of that suburban interpretation and it shows on each and every song. As a result Everyone on Everynight isn't too entertaining and really sounds like a bunch of people who think they know what reggae and ska is but really don't and then trying to do reggae and ska. Nice try guys...but I think even No Doubt were able to do this better.