Set Times (Aquarius, 2002)

Ichmael is a promising cultural singer based out of Florida whose appeal could very easily spread beyond the Southeast, aided by his appealing singing voice, which sounds like a cross between Bob Marley and Billy Mystic from the Mystic Revealers). Of course, I don’t mean to imply that this resemblance would be the sole reason for Ichmael’s success, but an artist should welcome any tool he/she can utilize in order to get a foot in the door (or an ear by the speaker). That said, Set Times should have enough quality material to hook listeners who may be drawn in by Ichmael’s vocals. Although it starts out a bit shaky, with an up-tempo, somewhat cheesy dancehall sound (including several that sound like dancehall hymns – a bit odd), it hits its stride in the middle when the pace settles down into a relaxed roots mode -- a bit like Mystic Revealers or even Israel Vibration at times -- where songs like "We Want to Be Free," "To Each His Own," "Double Trouble," "People Perish," "In My Heart," and my personal favorite, "A Lie Rasta" should find favor with not only Mystic Revealers fans, but fans of quality roots in general. Unfortunately, the album becomes cluttered near the end with a DJ version of "Trodding to Mt. Zion," an instrumental version of "In My Heart," a dub of "We Want to Be Free," and an a cappella version of "In My Heart," an overkill of "versions" that threatens to dampen the listener’s high from the preceding excellence. Still, while it’s admittedly a gamble to buy an album by an artist you don’t know, chances are you’ll find Set Times worth the risk.