Amazon.comThis low-fi recording may just be the very best ska album of the year. Chris Murray manages to evoke not only the crackly sound of the old, glorious Studio One 45s, he manages to write songs every bit as good. And yes, it's all his own work. Amazingly, Moon was a little reluctant to sign him. He may not fit in with the slowly burgeoning Third Wave, harking back much, much more to the old school of Jamaican ska, but he's probably the white boy with the best feel for it. Some of this was so good that it seriously seemed as if he'd just taped an old, obscure single to confuse everybody. But no, Venice Shoreline Chris is the real thing. --Chris Nickson