Album: Michael Franti & Spearhead, All Rebel Rockers (Epitaph)

Michael Franti's career has had its ups and downs, between the agit-hop of The Beatnigs and The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy and the more peaceable approach of Spearhead, but All Rebel Rockers is surely an all-time high.

It's a perfect marriage of artist, attitude, style and producer, Franti immersing himself in languid reggae grooves, realising his vision through the production team of Sly & Robbie. Whether offering chipper romantic tributes like "Say Hey (I Love You)" and "I Got Love For You", calling for a return to the days "when a border didn't mean a concrete wall" in "A Little Bit of Riddim", or trying to "smash the empire with my beatbox" in "Hey World", the results are warm, welcoming and propulsive.

Pick of the album:'The Future', 'A Little Bit of Riddim', 'Say Hey (I Love You)', 'Soundsystem', 'High Low'