UPS

Description

On says that you have to accept the highs and lows, but that's only because those who say it haven't yet listened to Ups, the second album by the Flying Hats, which is a true concentrate of happiness. The album arrives just over a year after their first opus, The Return of the Flying Hats, and only a few months after the release of a 45 RPM that became instantly cult. We can therefore confidently say that Ups places the group at the top of an extremely funky retro reggae wave, infused with Hammond organ. In fact, one might be tempted to say not only that they are "riding the wave," but that they are "amplifying it" - because this new opus offers us a second explosive dose of a sound that links reggae in the style of Aggrovators and funk in the style of Meters. The opening track, "Lightning Bottle," starts with an introductory drum break that briefly evokes a classic by Dawn Penn, before settling into a heavy, mid-tempo riddim, driven by the Hammond organ, immediately appealing to fans of the Bunny Lee/70s style. If Allen Toussaint and The Meters had left New Orleans for Kingston (or if Bunny Lee and Jackie Mittoo had settled in New Orleans) in the early 70s, the result would have been similar. The fact that these two scenarios did not occur is a loss for the early 70s and a gain for us!