Propagandhi once said that ska sucked, and you were a ‘stupid fuck’ if you thought a revival of the genre was cool. It’s personal opinion if you agree with their sentiments or not, but ever since the ska-punk revolution that gripped Orange County in the late 90s, a plethora of wannabe Reel Big Fish bands have skanked and danced their way through towns across the country. If you are a local promoter, arguably the best way to make a quick buck is to put on local ska bands – it doesn’t matter if they are any good, kids will turn out in force anyway.
Bradford youngsters Ninepoundnote have clearly had a ska-punk rulebook bought for them at some point and have marked everything off on the checklist. Zany lyrics? Daft name? Check. Use of swearing for cool points? Check. On the face of it you could be excused for dismissing the five-piece for merely jumping on that local bandwagon in an attempt to ride in on the Less Than Jake gravy train. But the truth is this self-produced record, released in November, isn’t all that bad. While ‘Chips For Tea’ certainly won’t knock you out with its breathtaking originality, to think this was recorded in a bedroom is quite an astounding feat. The vocals, although terribly Americanised, are clear and well executed, the drums solid and inventive and the brass plays an important role and is not over-used. Only the guitars, which are weak in tone and not loud enough, let the side down production-wise.
But what about the songs I hear you cry? Well they’re not bad, certainly taking influence from the likes of Catch 22 and the aforementioned Aaron Barrett fronted RBF, although certainly not strikingly original. Tracks like ‘Night Club’ and ‘One Minute Violence’ show signs of a band that have a few tricks rolled up their sleeves, particularly with some solid brass riffage, but there aren’t many moments which stand out above the pack. Still, in terms of local bands and home-made records, this is impressive stuff and I think given some hard graft, Ninepoundnote could well make a name for themselves in the Yorkshire scene.
www.ninepoundnote.tk
Paul