My eardrums take in a large amount of reggae rock sonics. I just thrive off the ocean-bathed melodies, dancehall basslines, tribal percussive beats, jamming rhythm guitars, shining horn sections and the overall look-on-the-bright-side-of-life vibes.
There are swarms of bands pumping out a variety of fresh Steel Pulse-meets-Jimi Hendrix infused tunes. There's plenty of the canned generic variety — adequate background music for a college frat party where the kids congregate to sip beer from red plastic cups, or suck it down through tubes connected to funnels, or, while hanging upside down, guzzle it straight from the tap. However, once Passafire’s own blend of reggae rock hit my ears, it was just so good, I had to hear more.
I discovered the Savannah, Ga. outfit at the start of 2010 and was immediately struck by lead singer Ted Bowne’s soulful, 311-esque croon, which is synced in harmony with those of bassist/back-up singer Will Kubley, who dominates on his instrument and keeps the rhythm section grooves going along with his brother, Nick Kubley, on drums. The band is rounded out by keyboardist Adam Willis and their sounds combine to create an illuminated, synthy sound that shifts from progressive and grandiose with tunes like, “Here in Front of Me,” to a softer-harmonic dancing-reggae flavor with songs like, “You’re Here.”
This article appears in Dec 9-15, 2010.