A Dub-Album from America! If you don't know, you can tell by the sound: fat beats are not for the Americans. The rhythms have to sound dry and well hung, hand-played and a bit like rock and roll. The Luste Kings production team from California are no exception. Andrew Bain and Corrin Haskel have been producing reggae according to this pattern since 1995 and prefer to have their riddims voiced by unknown Jamaican artists. In 15 years, of course, a beautiful rhythm collection has emerged, from which 11 tunes can now enjoy one Dub-Treatments and on the album "Luster Kings in Dub, vol. 1“ (Luster Kings/ Import). Another 6 tunes are included as pure versions - a total of 17 tracks. Apart from the rather dry sound, it is astonishing what a wide range of styles the pieces cover. There are ultra-soft lovers numbers, hand-played roots, digital dancehall, and even halfway deep ones Dubs based on the European model. If you didn't know better, you would assume a compilation from different producers. The question of whether this range of variation is a strength or a weakness does not arise, however, because for almost all pieces it is true that the beats remain somewhat weak and sap - no matter which style they are currently serving. With a few exceptions (“Proverbs Dub"," Takling Drum Version "), the rhythms do not have enough presence to be considered Dub or even to be able to pass version. They stay in the background, do not require any attention and everything is nice & easy - perfect feel-good music as background sound for the office. I know that the two Luster Kings produce their music with a lot of passion, which is why criticism is not easy for me. But even if it's done with a lot of love, it doesn't guarantee a good album. Maybe the two Californians should just stick to vocal tunes - they're much better at that.