It’s been thirteen years since Adrian Sherwood’s previous solo venture, Survival & Resistance. With the focus on production work during the decade (from Horacy Andy and the late Lee “Scratch” Perry to less obvious clients Panda Bear & Sonic Boom and Spoon), the dub auteur observed the world, accumulated energies and had things to say. There has been a lot to digest. The passing of two friends and collaborators, The Pop Group founder Mark Stewart and drummer Keith LeBlanc, became a trigger. Both are featured on the album. LeBlanc played drums on two tracks (‘Body Roll’ and ‘Spirits (Further Education)’) while Stewart gave The Collapse Of Everything a title. The work is named after a lyric from his song.
This underlying grief foregrounds the sonic elements of the producer’s oeuvre. There is a familiar dub hauntology that has been channelled through various projects of Sherwood’s On-U Sound Records, whether it’s his solo material or collective endeavours (Dub Syndicate and Tackhead). Still, The Collapse Of Everything embraces different sonic territories. Here, cinematic compositions, Tarantino-esque ‘Spaghetti Best Western’ and ‘The Great Rewilding’, suggesting a kinship with Soviet sci-fi cartoons, go hand in hand with oriental-sounding hazy downtempo (‘Body Roll’ and ‘Hiroshima Dub Match’).
Overall, the record gives the perspective of someone detached yet observant and mindful. With guitar, effects and vocal contributions from Brian Eno, ‘The Well Is Poisoned (Dub)’ seems to reflect on the agenda-setting strategy. Its ominous sound echoes Radiohead’s ‘The National Anthem’ and ‘Dollars and Cents’, inspired by a similar subject matter. The line between personal and global is a thin one. The internal collapse is accompanied by that from the external socioeconomic realm (the de-dollarisation hinted at by the artwork).
For a powerhouse like Adrian Sherwood, dub is a parallel realm where the world, however distorted it may be, looks at least tolerable. However dark the underlying motives are, The Collapse Of Everything gives a sense of hope, rising from ashes.
