Cool Out and Coexist seems the latest step in Dub Trio's conquest to further ingrain in listeners' psyches that the group do, in fact, perform their music live, using humanly triggered effects and samples to replicate dub conventions within the context of rock music. The trio included some live tracks on their debut, 2004's Exploring the Dangers of..., and now Cool Out and Coexist has dropped, a full live disc featuring material from their previous two offerings and a handful of new music. It's not often that a band issues a live album so early into their career, but the emphasis on live performance that seems to encircle Dub Trio makes it a more sensible venture. The tracks, recorded at Brooklyn's Union Pool during a series of sold-out concerts, lean heavily on New Heavy, the band's sophomore effort, which features a more distinct punk/hard rock influence, resulting in a heavier, more aggressive sound than its predecessor, and, on Cool Out and Coexist, a clash of sensibilities, a manifestation of the personality crisis that afflicts Dub Trio in their current form.
There's no shame in fusion, though the word has been given a questionable connotation by a few decades of limp jazz/rock, but there is a certain danger of novelty for novelty's sake, the utilization of disparate means within a new context simply for the sheer newness of the venture. Dub Trio, now with added aggression, don't come off as musicians in search of contrived originality; their mixture of dub and punk sensibilities is likely a natural amalgamation of their favorite music, and an extension of the trio as music fans as much as musicians. Where this becomes an issue is when one compares the two sides of Dub Trio's coin, for while there's nothing egregious about their addition of more hard-edged material into the music, the trio are decidedly more gifted purveyors of dub music than rock. The oldest material, especially, illuminates the issue, showing a band firmly in control of their craft, and while, perhaps, a track like "Drive By Dub" might meander a bit much, it and "Casting Out the Nines" are the disc's strongest cuts. The newer material, with its hefty riffs, isn't wholly neutered, but there's not much standout material of the ilk, and, when playing harder, Dub Trio seem to have slightly more trouble seamlessly integrating the dub elements into their songs; at times it's still spot on, but at others, the delays and other effects can feel more ornamental, like superficial additions to an already formed song. "One Man Tag Crew" is practically two different songs, a track decidedly split in its quality, and much of the New Heavy material shares this quality, in which styles are meshed rather conspicuously, and the end result is that of a band which seems to handcuff itself, creating music that doesn't often segue smoothly or capitalize on the trio's strengths. There's no doubt that these guys are gifted musicians, and one can't ignore the skill with which they recreate dub-isms live, however Cool Out and Coexist exhibits a band that's playing with the right pieces, but has yet to organize them in such a way as to reach their potential of what could be an innovative and impressive sound.
