L.A.B Essentials

Featuring familiar players from both Kora and Katchafire, the modern reggae ensemble hailing from New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty region also showcases the delicate lead guitar and smooth, nuanced vocals of Batucada Sound Machine’s Joel Shadbolt. His crossover appeal helped to propel the 2019 single “In the Air” to four-times-platinum status in their homeland, while the band has stretched freely beyond the boundaries of traditional reggae over a series of albums titled simply with Roman numerals. Observe the romantic overtures and disco-style string flourishes of 2020’s deeply funky “My Brother” and the cosmic percolations and warming vocal harmonies of the same year’s pleading ballad “Why Oh Why.” L.A.B. toured New Zealand extensively while the rest of the world was still largely in lockdown, bolstering their already sterling reputation as a transfixing touring act.