TRIBE AFTER TRIBE

TRIBE AFTER TRIBE
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE (1997)
320 KBPS

For those five or ten of you on the planet who know about Robbie Robb, you can skip this and just get the CD if you haven't already. Its his best yet under the Tribe moniker. For the rest of you, this album stands as an excellent introduction to the African-influenced tribal rhythms and powerful lyrical themes of Tribe After Tribe - its also unfortunately the only one of his albums still in print other than Three Fish. While choosing to express a folkier side of himself on the Three Fish albums, this one comes out like a pulsing cannon blast on "Boy", with powerful guitars and effective electronic touches soaring over the pounding tribal base. "Senor", as Robb affirms in the liner notes, is a bit too close to some moments on Pink Floyd's _Animals_ for comfort, but it has some surprisingly elegant acoustic guitar work from Robb that is ultimately winning. "Fire Dancers" and "Hopeless The Clown" also rock hard, while "Murder on the Lee Shore" is a rich, eerie textural exploration. Helping the cause is the fact that Robb has surrounded himself here with a dream-list of bass rhythm machines, including Doug Pinnick (King's X), Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam) and Joey Vera (Fates Warning, Armored Saint). They surf the astounding percussion gracefully.

1. Boy
2. Lazarus
3. Señor
4. Fire Dancers
5. Murder On The Lee Shore
6. Ballad Of Winnie
7. Bury Me
8. Pat On The Back
9. Hopeless The Clown
10. Uh Oh
11. I Am Your Heart