Version Excursion

Back in the mid-to-late noughties, musical polymath Bruno Hovart (Patchworks, Voilaaa, Mr President, Uptown Funk Empire etc) helmed a revivalist dub reggae band famed for delivering dusty cover versions of soul, pop and rock hits. Hovart is a dab hand at making anything he touches sound scarily authentic, and much of Version Excursions, the band's now reissued debut album, sounds like proper Jamaican rocksteady, roots and ska of the 1970s. It's a simple idea, brilliantly executed, with highlights including their covers of 'Seven Nation Army', the Rolling Stones' 'Miss You' (reimagined as a toaster-sporting disco-reggae jam), and Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love'.