Adrian Sherwood
The Collapse of Everything
On U Sound
It’s been 13 years since producer / remix magician Adrian Sherwood has stepped forward with his own creation. Best known as the leading advocate of dub reggae in the UK, Sherwood has kept busy with projects by Lee “Scratch” Perry, Creation Rebel, and more. It was the loss of two close friends and collaborators, drummer Keith LeBlanc and The Pop Group vocalist Mark Stewart, that prompted Sherwood to step into the spotlight again.
The album is a pastoral landscape of hypnotic beats, echoes, and sound effects. In some ways, it is similar to Brian Eno’s ambient music projects. It’s no surprise, then, that the only collaboration on the album, “The Well is Poisoned,” features Mr. Eno. Elsewhere, the influence of the great soundtrack composer Ennio Morricone is evident in twangy guitars and lonesome harmonica, The influence is most prominent on the appropriately titled “Spaghetti Best Western.” “The Collapse of Everything” features a mystical flute playing jazzy fills, distorted guitars, and pin-prick pianos. “Dub Inspector” has the most reggae-like rhythms, with horns reminiscent of Ethio-jazz.
Sherwood takes swipes at current affairs and politics in song titles like “Battles Without Honor and Humanity” and the album artwork. The turmoil of our troubled times doesn’t find its way into the music, though. The Collapse of Everything is a perfect album to put on when you need to de-stress after a long day working for the man. I played it a lot while recovering from surgery.
