"American Dreadlock" Review by Shawn Hallman
Kounterfeit Change
"American Dreadlock"
Kounterfeit Change is a band comprised of five talented musicians. The strong performance and polished sound on their debut full-length album, American Dreadlock, makes it sound as though they have been playing together for 10+ years. The musicians in Kounterfeit Change play off one another and switch moods and grooves so well it makes American Dreadlock a pleasant listening experience.
The album opens up with title track “American Dreadlock”. This song introduces the funky side of Kounterfeit Change while also introducing the slight political and social commentary found throughout the album. “Rock Your Body” is a little blunter with the commentary with its shout outs to current president Barack Obama. “On Reserve” is a fun feel good song that’s just begging for an audience to sing along. Kounterfeit Change does a good job of mixing genres all while maintaining a reggae feel. This CD sounds like the love child of a perfect mix of 311 and the Long Beach Dub Allstars.
“Aggression” brings about some conscious lyrics with a bit of a hard rock/metal edge while making you rock your head back and forth the whole time. “Kiroshi” continues the rocky feel, and “Four Nineteen” lets you prepare for the next minute (4:20 in case you didn’t catch that) by bringing a good reggae feel for listener’s to unwind to. “Welcome” is an extremely upbeat and happy song that sounds radio friendly and could put this band on the map.
“War and Crime” entrances the listener with a nice spacey dub feel that makes it impossible to skip. “Reeses” is a nice feel good song that brings the tempo down a little and showcases the wonderful vocal harmonization capabilities of this band. “Outer” features a great rapping/jam section that highlights, once again, how well Kounterfeit Change can mix genres to create something new and refreshing. The “Reprise” of this CD takes us back to the title track, but this time more stripped down and personal.
American Dreadlock is an album that has had a lot of hard work put into it, and that hard work paid off. Kounterfeit Change has the ability to take a reggae foundation, make you feel a funk groove, head bang to rock, and dance to hip-hop…all within the same song. American Dreadlock is without a doubt an album worth checking out.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hallman
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