Temple Yard is an intriguing Georgia-based band formed in 1998 by former members of Christafari. I don’t know the reasons behind the split, but listening to Emancipation — their second album — you might guess that it was because the Temple Yard folks wanted to explore musically beyond reggae. And voila we have what the group affectionately refers to as “Caribeat” — mixing “the best of the Caribbean with elements of other genres,” according to the liner notes. The Caribbean flavor comes in the form of roots reggae (“Chariots of Fire,” “Pharisees”), dancehall (“Must Come Correct”), and a kind of general up-tempo Latin-edged Caribbean style akin to soka, zouk, junkanoo, etc. (“Firefall,” “Emancipation”). The “other genres” meanwhile range from Living Colour-esque hard rock (“Anyway,” “Heaven”) to Steve Arrington-like ’80s funk (“Gotta Serve Somebody”) to R&B ballads (“Watch Over Me”). When in their reggae mode, Temple Yard can be quite enjoyable — from the fiery dancehall of “Must Come Correct” to the edgy digital roots of “Chariots of Fire” to the funky roots of “Pharisees” — and even some of the non-reggae cuts, like “Heaven” and “Watching Over Me,” prove catchy. However, despite the group’s admirable assertion that they strive to not make music just for the radio (“What is the point of making music that everyone digs except the artist” they ask.), the mix of styles is jarring and as cohesive as oil in water. Although this isn’t necessarily what happened, it feels like each member of the band got to write a couple of songs in their own disparate style.