Vex

In their prime, Steel Pulse looked poised to become the best reggae band in U.K. history. And arguably, in fact, they were the best — at least during the mid-'80s. But the late '80s and '90s found them releasing a string of albums whose quality can most charitably be characterized as uneven. Vex was certainly not the worst of these — that distinction probably belongs to 1988's dreary State of Emergency — but it comes as a disappointment after the sharp and tuneful Victims. Lead singer and primary songwriter David Hinds seems to be scraping the bottom of his barrel of inspiration here: "In My Life" features one of the lamest choruses ever committed to tape; "Bootstraps" opens with a string of clichés and never does anything to redeem them (and sadly can't be rescued even by a fine DJ appearance by Tony Rebel), and "Islands Unite" seems to be demanding a political independence for Jamaica that had already been won 40 years earlier. Hinds is in strong voice as always, and Steve Nesbitt's beats are as powerfully tensile as always (an element of the Steel Pulse sound that hasn't always gotten the attention it deserves). But without great songs, a great sound is just an empty shell, and great songs are very hard to come by on this disappointing effort.