a “slow” reggae/rock roll from victor & the new vintage

“Slow” is the first track and video off The New Vintage, the recently released EP from Victor & The New Vintage.  On the surface, it’s got all the feels that we’ve come to expect from the razor-sharp, London-based reggae-rock trio that R. Victor Williams formed after disbanding his previous group, the theatrical fusion juggernaut, Liontribe — kinda rap-rock, kinda garage-reggae, discombobulated in all the best ways. But a little beneath the surface of the song, and in the video — a screen split between The New Vintage’s performance and a voyeuristic dance routine performed by actress/dancer Sophie Ablett — something odder occurs.

“Slow” is almost a soul-dub tune — constructed for the most part from Williams’ loverman vocals and vibrato guitar licks, that engage with the drummer’s hi-hats and rim-shots — except that it also opens up into a set of power-chord breakdowns that in classic roots style become more intense.  It is really unlike almost anything else out there. Like a lo-fi blues, or a progressive rock song constructed in equal parts feel and high-minded composition, “Slow” remains in a loop of a perpetual breakdown, and Ablett’s endearing, free-associative choreography is a perfect accompaniment. Odd birds hearing each other’s calls, and what-not.

The New Vintage, the new EP from Victor & The New Vintage, is available as a free download.