by Robert Gabriel
During the '80s with traditional roots reggae beginning to merge with electronic technology, Pablo Moses followed suit with mixed results. While Tension as an album has its moments, including both the title track and "Bomb the Nation," it comes across as far too simplistic for a style of music rooted in rhythmic complexity. Political themes approach the predictability of nursery rhymes as Pablo Moses over-annunciates his lyrics to quite an annoying degree. And while his band, which included such luminaries as Robbie Lyn and Dean Fraser, did much to add new instrumentation to the reggae repertoire, they really didn't do much to innovate the genre.