The Jai-Alai Savant

Flight Of The Bass Delegate

[4/5] There are moments on the debut album from Philly trio the Jai-Alai Savant when the crisp rock ’n’ reggae, voiced by the keening Ralph Darden, could make you swear you’re listening to an old Police bootleg. In fact, the frustrated “Scarlet Johansson Why Don’t You Love Me?” is practically a new-millennium “Roxanne.” But Flight Of The Bass Delegate is even better when it trades sideways Jamaican riddims for more straight-ahead grooving. “White On White Crime” is blasted into thrilling orbit by a soulful brass section, while “When I Grow Up,” a City Of Brotherly Love shoutout that declares “I’m keepin’ the faith alive/In the 2-1-5,” is a dead ringer for the great Britpunk act, A. Together, the Sting-ing skank and the soaring rock make this one flight you’d be stupid to miss. (GSL) Dan LeRoy