The Lions: "This Generation"

In most important ways, reggae has accumulated all of the major drawbacks modern blues finds itself saddled with: namely, a reductionist calcification of overplayed cliches offered up in the name of tradition and respect but having the unfortunate side effect of rendering the music it's paying tribute to obsolete... you need an infusion of new blood, not the bloodless twelfth generation photocopy most reggae/blues "aspires" to.

The Lions realize the tradition never would have been shit without the actual songs, and "This Generation" is one of the more promising island-infused jams since the third wave ska breakthrough all those years ago. This LA semi-supergroup is composed of two guys from Hepcat, crooner Malik Moore and DJ Black Shakespeare (couse of Sly & Robbie's Robbie Shakespeare).