Musiq House

Steel Pulse is one of the toughest British reggae bands ever, and it also boasts one of the sharpest names in the biz. Born amid the blood and smoke of Birmingham's Handsworth riots, Steel Pulse was never part of reggae's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" school. Even after Pulse had made a name for itself with uncompromising rebel music like "Handsworth Revolution" and "Ku Klux Klan," TRUE DEMOCRACY, released on the band's own Wise Man Doctrine label in 1982, was a breakthrough album -- Pulse never sounded tighter, and its members were writing great songs. It's all there on the irresistible "Blues Dance Raid": the shimmering voice of front man David Hinds, the bright guitar chops, bouncy bass lines, swirling synth chords, and catchy call-and-response vocal hooks. From the dance hall blaster "Ravers" to the Afrocentric energy of "Rally Round" and "Dub Marcus Say," this is a reggae album that hums with high-energy power pop at its most infectious.