Supernatural whispers, creepy creaks, distant howls, and sci-fi laser zaps… what do they have in common? Of course, they all go together quite well as backdrops for horror movies and your neighborhood’s spookiest house. Oddly enough, they also go pretty perfectly as effects for dub reggae. Jim the Boss and his Hi Fi Rockers studio band have put together a seasonally-relevant album, Dubs from the Grave, full of such effects, dripped over topically relevant songs.

Jim the Boss has an active musical history, having worked with Cornel Campbell, Horace Andy, Victor Rice, and Dave Hillyard of The Slackers, but he created the sound effects that were used for this album while working on other professional pursuits. “I used to work for a company that recorded music and SFX for TV and other media productions,” he told me. “When the company closed, I retained most of the rights to what I created, which included all of the SFX work. I compiled the scariest of sounds, and it’s available on Bandcamp as a sample pack called Sounds from the Grave.” Dubs from the Grave makes strong use of those effects, as they bleed through the music.

Original versions of this album’s songs, featuring various artists and recorded in years prior, are shocked into new breath through these hauntingly-dubby rebirths. Jim the Boss commented on some of the history: “‘Big Man Dead’ was released in 2014 on Miserable Man’s American Sessions EP. That was an EP we (the HiFi Rockers studio band) produced for him. ‘The Dark Art’ is a redo of Hudson Soul album’s ‘Dark Art’ riddim.  Some songs like ‘Halloween Town’ and ‘Queen of the Dead’ (dub version of Jah Adam’s ‘My Love For You’) was released sometime in 2017 as a radio only promo.”

“American Horror Story” is a dance-inducing, spaced out and dubby giant of a track; you can’t stand through this one and not high step a couple times. “Queen of the Dead” is equally body moving, as chilling laughter rides over plodding binghi drops and thick bass runs.

“Halloween Town” is particularly of note, a powerful and punchy take on a Lee “Scratch” Perry riddim: “Give Me Power.” This track chants for optimistic acceptance of everyone around us – an irie spin on the town named for a more chilling spirit.

“Big Man Dead” is a personal favorite, being interspersed with sections of lyrical delivery and flow that have strong Linton Kwesi Johnson vibes. That’s all I need to know, to realize that I’ll hear this more than once. The whole song is strong lyrically and vocally, but when everything drops to a crawl and that bassy Johnson-style delivery floods the track, it’s lyrical (Halloween) candy.

“The Dark Art” sparks off with the cackle of one of the Wicked Witch’s cousins. I admit that it scared me, when it crackled through my headphones. It was worth the loss of one of my lives, as the payoff is a beautiful piece of music that’s pushed forward by silky horn lines and hopping keys. Leave those headphones on, and let this one play!

This collection of dubs is respectful to the larger traditions of dub reggae, and it offers more than just season-specific tracks. You’re as likely to find yourself taking a listen any month of the year as you are this October. Give yourself a treat; hear some of this haunting goodness.