It’s business as usual (nearly) for ROBB BLAKE and LIAM O’KANE. ‘Heavyweight Acoustic Ska Showdown’ is exactly that: an acoustic ska showdown in the form of a split C, with each combatant calling out five tracks to battle.
ROBB BLAKE
The former Whitmore man hits first with a stripped down offering. Gone is the extra instrumentation that’s earned him the moniker ‘One Man Ska Explosion’; this is just one man and his guitar. Blake‘s vocal, all gruff and forceful is enough to get a message across (noticeably one that focuses on his almost trademark alcohol obsession) and sets him up as breaching the ‘ska’ boundary into acoustic punk territory. It’s fair that this isn’t his strongest body of work but it’s one that clearly illustrates his talent.
LIAM O’KANE
Just about one of the busiest people you’re likely to come across, this is the Jimmy The Squirrel frontman’s fourth release (in one form or another) in a little over 12 months. That’s some pretty good going, I think you’ll agree. O’Kane’s approach to acoustic ska is a little more relaxed than Blake, with his soulful vocal working in fine contrast. Again, there’s not all that much to separate this from previous offerings, although things here are also completely stripped to just one guitar and one vocal. It’s simple enough stuff, but it’s the sort of thing that O’Kane has become known form, and is very good at.
Ultimately, this split serves as a nice, simplistic and effective use of both performers. Blake and O’Kane work well as a double act (take note gig promoters); similar enough to appeal to a selected crowd whilst being varied enough to ensure things don’t get too tired and repetitive.
ALEX HAMBLETON