I'll be the first one to admit that when I heard The Charlatans UK traded in their trademark Brit-Pop sound for white-boy Soul and falsetto vocals on 2001's Wonderland I was extremely skeptical. However, Wonderland turned out to be one of the most fun and surprisingly great albums of that year.

Simpatico (The Charlatans UK's ninth studio album if you can believe it) finds Tim Burgess and company taking a detour from their Brit-Pop sound yet again, but this time it's for something a lot less impressive and somewhat laughable: white-boy Reggae.

I have to tell you, the first time I listened to this album I was pissed-off. Especially after I heard the first track/single and the best track by a mile "Blackened Blue Eyes," because that song harkens back to the days when they were at the very height of their powers; the 1997 masterpiece Tellin' Stories. Even the second track, "NYC (There's No Need To Stop)" is a good time with its Wonderland style leanings. After that though, Simpatico begins its precipitous slide off the proverbial cliff and sets in like a bad hangover.

"For Your Entertainment" is the first track to start off the Rasta party, but at that point you have it pegged as a one-off lark and is mildly amusing before you realize that it's not just a novelty tune. As the reggae tunes start to stack up, Simpatico wears thin in entertainment value and overstays it's welcome with the patience of the listener. Not a single track after the first quarter of this album is worth recommending, but after repeated listens it does begin to get less annoying (that isn't a glowing endorsement though mind you). Reggae didn't compliment The Rolling Stones on Black and Blue and sure as hell doesn't do anything for The Charlatans UK either, so I guess it's back to the drawing board for these elder statesmen when they get around to making album number ten.