This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
You know how it is with old friends — you might not hear from them for years, but when you do, you can pick up right where you left off. Well, that’s also the way it is with Calvin Johnson and Dub Narcotic Sound System.
Degenerate Introduction is the first CD in four years from these Portland trailblazers, but they haven’t changed a bit. The players still pound out the heavy-footed, fuzz-laden funk and reggae grooves with loosey-goosey aplomb, Calvin still croaks his repetitive lyrics like Michigan J. Frog under hypnosis, and the whole affair has all the laissez-faire production value than the murkiest old Lee Scratch Perry plate. And as usual, Johnson and co. somehow turn all that predictability into an asset, cunningly using their limitations to outline the boundaries of their stylistic basement. Nice to hear from you, guys. Let’s not wait five years to do it again.
