CD REVIEW: Dirty Heads "Any Port In A Storm (Special Edition)"

Dirty Heads have been kicking around most of these tunes for a few years now. In fact, 2008 saw the original release of "Any Port In A Storm" and was excellent then. It's still excellent, and now made even better with the inclusion of a handful of new songs and b-sides that almost double the original tracklist. Poised to take over as the prominent reggae rock band on the scene today, Dirty Heads have drawn comparisons to everyone from 311 to Sublime to Slightly Stoopid. Their music features a bit of each of those bands' styles while still establishing themselves as their own entity. The don't overdo it on the hip hop, they are a little less punk than Sublime, and they pull out all the stops when it comes to making feel good music. Rome, the new lead singer for the newly revamped Sublime, lends his vocals to the new single "Lay Me Down" which is Dirty Heads' best song of the newly released tunes. An older song seeing release for the first time is "Sails To The Wind," which is another great Dirty Heads composition. The portion of the album originally released two years ago features the hit songs "Stand Tall," "Believe," and "Driftin'." "Stand Tall," which first saw the light of day in the movie "Surf's Up," also gets the acoustic treatment in this new version of the album, which showcases the organic nature of Dirty Heads' music and the excellence of their lyrics. With great tunes, both new and old, Dirty Heads are leading the way for the next generation of west coast reggae rock music, and are doing it their way.