Time Bomb

Personnel: Kai Boy (vocals); Joe D. (drums).
Audio Mixers: Joseph King; J.P. Hesser.
Recording information: Castaway 7 Studios, Ventura, CA.
Photographer: Wayne Richardson.
Maybe there's some overlap with their previous catalog, but the jumble of familiar and new that fills Iration's sophomore effort has at least one distinct advantage over their debut: it is road-tested. Recorded after a nationwide tour, Time Bomb feels live and organically grown, and seeing as this Hawaiian rock-reggae crew lives in the jam band genre, these are certainly desirable qualities and, also, surprisingly rare. The title track, "Coming Your Way," and "Wait and See" are all delivered in versions that rival any fan's favorite live tape, while cool cucumbers like "Falling" ("We met at a concert/You were wearing Converse") benefit greatly from a little mood-setting studio production. Don't expect any heavy dread, and when the band drops a "roots" reference it's bound to send reggae purists spinning, but if Pepper are too snotty and Groundation are too mystical, Iration are the reggae-rockers to pick for the smoothest of sailing. Now, was the cover artwork of Time Bomb and Ciccone Youth's The Whitey Album separated at birth? ~ David Jeffries