For many Jamaican acts, the new technology of synthesizers and drum machines has been an excuse to move away from traditional reggae with its emphasis on melody and philosophy. For Black Uhuru, though, the new studio machinery has been a way to reinvigorate the old forms. If the vocal trio's Mystical Truth was a disappointing detour through pop-crossover territory, Strongg is bubbling over with reggae roots, catchy tunes and apocalyptic politics. Asha Brissett's synthesizers and Dean Frazer's electronically treated horns give the album a modern buzz, but the virtues of melodic hooks and quasi-Biblical language are the same as those that gave this group its start in the mid '70s. --Geoffrey Himes