Lace up the docs, straighten up the braces and wax that Mohawk – it’s skankin’ time. After the first, second and tenth listen to this album one word keeps coming straight to the forefront of my mind when attempting to review this album: fun. Everything about this album is fun. It’s the perfect cure for a bad mood and an excellent excuse to party.
The verses are very well written and the choruses are catchier than a wicket keeper at the ashes. The awkward Italian/German accent makes the vocals seem that little more adolescent in their delivery in the vein of old school Millencolin or even a more understandable Tim Armstrong. The drums hop along like a happy little monkey banging his brass cymbals with the bass shuffling its slinky lines, keeping the pace behind him.
The guitars are razor sharp with the up tempo stabs so anally precise that a metronome would struggle to match pace.
The Hammond organ steals the show as its not usually the trendiest of instruments but certainly gets the recognition it deserves here. The operator of said device keeps quiet in the background only to unleash the smallest flicker of absolute brilliance when you least expect it. You lose yourself in the jangly guitar tones until the ivory fury buried deep in the keys is unleashed. The warm and fuzzy glow of the organ reminds me of the seaside and puts an ice cream tint on the whole affair.
This album is a good time album guaranteed to erase your blues or stomp them to death with a back-laced doc marten boot. It’s impossible to listen to this album without your foot tapping or (if you’re like me) breaking out into a very technical albeit very funny air bass routine.
Every course of musical pleasure served in this album leaves you with the want of more. The aftertaste of each track seems to resonate in your brains musical palate, reminding you of its happy-go-lucky flavour until your next opportunity to sample its wares. Ive played this album to death and I can pour out the positives all day – the only criticism is that it’s too damn short. The “less is more” ethos adopted by the early punk movement is still as prevailing today as it ever was. I’m not usually one to judge by length, but this album could have had a few more tracks to fill out the content. Sometimes it literally all comes down to quality over quantity and the record checks the first box perfectly.
Ska, Reggae and Oi all do have their very exclusive fan bases but I implore you to give it a try as you won’t be disappointed. I challenge anyone to find an album that maintains the feel good factor that this album offers from start to finish.
MARC ANDERSON-JONES