Until the PR email dropped into the Joyzine inbox I didn’t realise my life had been the poorer without Elijah Minnelli in it but from the opening track of his new album Clams As A Main Meal my mood was instantly elevated. Ever wondered what folk songs would be like re-worked as dub plates then Elijah Minnelli has got you covered. His success with 2024’s Perpetual Musket showed that people like Little Roy and Shumba Youth could shine on this dub-folk delight. It’s always great to start your album with one of the strongest tracks and ‘Canaan Land’ is a ‘glory-hallelujah’ spiritual that features legendary reggae musician Dennis Bovell MBE, offering up his voice in multi-tracked joy that ranges from bottom-of-the-well subsonic to sweet layered harmonies.
‘Sumptuous Promise’ is one of a number of tracks that bounce along on ping-pong low notes and rattling percussion with pauses for what Minelli calls “all wheezing contraptions and cockeyed bass”. Given that the Melodica features so much in reggae hearing an accordion (too low for a squeeze box I think) on ‘Watercraft Apologist’ makes perfect sense, and coupled with the low-low time-stretched vocals that flow like molasses it creates a heady mixture of dizzying intoxication.
As a big fan of Carwyn Ellis (Bendith, Rio 18, Colorama) hearing him singing in Welsh on ‘Donna Donna (Chwerthin)’ is also one of the standout moments on the album. The combination of almost naïve percussion bubbling in the background, accordion swells and bass gyres works perfectly with the Welsh language which, to English ears, has a cadence that fits perfectly with the dub bounce.
‘Calopify Now!’ feels like 16-bit reggae with its glitches and sonic tics, and ‘Bomb The Green Belt’ returns to the mix of pastoral folk dipped in reggae colours and I pictured Maypoles decked out in red, yellow and green ribbons. Listening to this makes you feel sure the harvest will be plentiful this year. The album closes with the elongated chords and ambient drones of ‘Long Conifer’ which has the feel of a sinister primary school recorder group performing in the deepest and darkest part of the woods. It is unsettling enough to want to instantly return to opening track so you can bask again in the warmth of Dennis Bovell’s voice.
Clams As A Main Meal totally appeals to my love of folk and dub music, and both genres draw from a rich history of musical tradition with myriad versions of songs handed down generation to generation. But this is no kitsch mashup; it folds everything into a perfectly crafted whole. Elijah Minelli is to folk-dub what Heston Blumenthal is to molecular gastronomy. Only by truly understanding all the elements can you combine them into something outstanding.
You can buy the album through the Breadminster Label or via Dubwise Vinyl
No social links for Elijah Minnelli but you can follow Dennis Bovell here and he has a new album out Sufferer Sounds, and Carwyn Ellis here, he also has a new album with Rio 18, Haf, coming out Feb 6 2026.
Review by Paul F Cook
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