New Giant Panda record 'Love in Time' is solid, if inconsistent 

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At this point in its trajectory, the group Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad doesn’t need to prove anything.

Giant Panda has produced dance-inducing reggae with heart consistently since 2001, and with repeated success on the Billboard charts, has already done enough for induction into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame when the time is right.

Yet, I still couldn’t help but want to hear something different from “Love in Time,” Giant Panda’s seventh studio album, released on April 7. Was the band still connected to the sociopolitical “power of the people” that gave the spark to roots reggae in ’60s Jamaica? Or had the upstate New York Squad become only superficially connected to the sound of revolution in a way that pandered to the hippie party music crowd?

The answer to both questions is “Yes,” depending on the song.


Any concern about Giant Panda’s roots reggae authenticity can be quashed with the single “Chants,” powered by cameo vocals from Clinton Fearon of the iconic Jamaican band The Gladiators. Over a mid-tempo, summertime groove, Fearon sings, "Yes, I believe there will be a better tomorrow / But we have to work for it, so we all can do the freedom dance.”


Elsewhere, “Revolution” finds Panda collaborating with Philly reggae band The Movement to create what is arguably the album’s strongest track, both musically and lyrically: “Only pollution from institutions, solutions are born in the revolution.”


But as a collection, “Love in Time” feels inconsistent. Songs like “Champion” and “For You” feel unmoored from reggae’s historical legacy. These songs are pleasant, but they appropriate reggae’s style without delivering on its substance.

Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad excels at making earnest, feel-good reggae. A few unmemorable tracks aside, “Love in Time” builds on the band’s proven formula.

Daniel J. Kushner is an arts writer at CITY. He can be reached at [email protected].