I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: CHRONIXX-Tiny Desk Concert #654 (September 27, 2017).

Chronixx and his band Zincfence Redemption paid a long-awaited visit to the Tiny Desk to perform three songs from his sophomore album, Chronology.

At a time when dancehall has been dominating the Jamaican soundscape, its refreshing to hear the man born Jamar McNaughton carrying the roots-revival torch for a younger generation and expanding upon the footprint left by his world-renowned predecessors.

This is especially true for roots reggae, whose staccato guitar licks, billowing bass, and sonic splashes on a canvas of negative space, are like salve for the soul. The mid-tempo pulse conjures up relaxed days on the beach, living amid nature’s unrestricted beauty.

I allowed the blurb to speak for me because I really don’t care for reggae.  Or I should say I like one or two songs but beyond that it’s all too samey to me.

But Chronixx adds some changes to the classic sound.

In “Skankin’ Sweet,” the tempo is faster than a lot of reggae so I like this a bit more.  Chronixx’s delivery is light and fluid.  I enjoy in the middle section that the percussionist Hector Lewis has time to dance before he gets back to the bongoes.

“Majesty” is a smoothy dancy song with a solid bass line from Adrian Henry and drums from Oliver Thompson.

On “Spanish Town Rockin'” percussionist  Lewis sings some delightful falsetto backing vocals. There’s a cool moment when one of the guitarists Stephen Coore or N’Namdi Robinson slides his finger up the next with a neat echo effect on it. This song is pretty extended and dancey and Chronixx does a little freestyle.  I can’t quite make out everything he says, but there’s a bit about “NPR session / Chronixx rasta mon / roll up the mad ribbon / and then he cracks up.  J. Evan Mason on the keys has done most of the melodies while the guitars played chords, but he gets a special little section during the outro of this song.

he hasn’t converted me to reggae, but it’s much more fun live than on record.

[READ: July 24, 2016] Amulet: Prince of the Elves

The book begins with Max as a young boy.  He is learning from his friend, an elf named Layra.  Then we meet Max’s dad.  Max’s dad is pretty intense and he wants Max to serve on the Guardian council “he will follow my path, not my father’s.”  Then we see that Max’s father does not like elves

When Max goes to Layra’s house, her parents have been put in jail and a headline reads “Elves declare war.”

Max runs to the prison, frees her parents and has the three of them get on a ship to freedom.  But as soon as they try to escape, the ship is blown up and all the passengers killed (this story is really dark).  Max is sentenced to prison for helping prisoners escape.  Soon enough Max escapes prison and the stone is trying to tell him what to do–“just give me complete control and I can keep you alive long enough to have your revenge.”

And then we jump fifty years later (the present) and Max looks exactly the same.  He states that his loyalty lies with the kingdom of elves and he believes that Prince Trellis is a traitor.   Max and his soldiers head to the prison. They meet “your majesty” and with him the prisoner–Chrosnos a mountain giant–the last of his kind. They free the giant who is Max’s to command.  He tells the giant: “March on Frontera and leave no survivors.”

Then we flash over to Emily and her group.  Vigo shows her a transmission from a final meeting with Silas and Max.  Vigo knew Max when he was little and he says that Max was dangerous then and is even more so now.

Meanwhile Navin is going to be put in charge of yet another ship, this one a giant robot-looking fighter.  Navin is joined by Alyson Hunter a fellow pilot.

While the ships are in flight, Trellis has gone into the void and cannot be woken. They are under attack by Max’s team and as the fighting continues Trellis is thrown from the ship .  Trellis winds up in a land of elves and we learn a lot about what has happened in elf history and what information Trellis needs to move on.

Soon everyone knows the truth about past events.  And Trellis realizes that he had blamed thw wrong people all along. And Max’s giant takes advantage of his size to overpower Max.

Nothing is as it seems.