Unlike other pasty-skinned reggae revivalists, the guys in
Westbound Train prefer their rasta music a little on the moody side. The seven-piece Boston band eschews the partytime ska most of its contemporaries play, in favor of a slow, druggy dub style. Everything the group learned about keeping it real on their first two albums -- never rush the beat, make everything woozy in the background, and sing like you’ve been stoned for the past three days -- hits its apex on their latest album, Transitions. It’s come-down music, played with skill and reverence. These guys may not get audiences jumping feverishly in place while reformed band nerds blow their trombones onstage, but they’re much more interesting.
Fri., March 9, 9 p.m.
