There’s a tag on the CD cover that reads “authentic ska”. These two words concisely sum up this first offering from The Simmertones, a Devon based nine-piece that has been treading the live boards for a couple of years now. ‘Presenting The Simmertones: Vol. 1′, a seven track mini-album featuring three original tracks and four cover versions, does a pretty damn fine job of blowing those winter blues away.
The band calls it “ska, proper ska” so expect lots of harmonies and traditional JA sounds; horns aplenty, luscious organs and a no worries vibe. The cover versions on the record are essentially an ‘influences’ list. Justin Hinds and The Skatalites are reworked as well as the traditional ‘Sammy Dead’ and the ‘Dr. Who’ theme tune (that’s a playful little number), all of which go someway to setting-up The Simmertones‘ stall.
I’s the original material though that shines through here. ‘One Time Soon’ (which borrows a little from The Skatalites, so is nearly completely original) has a real Toots feel to it, bright and breezy without a hint of malice, just easy come/easy go. The organ led ‘Warm Your Bones’ will have you sauntering along with its mellow, come-as-you-are mix of brass. Closing track ‘Do What You Got To Do’ may just be the stand-out here, providing the best hooked chorus on the release. All three sweat that traditional ska sound. This isn’t a case of reinventing the genre; this is essentially straight-up homage.
It would have been nice to have gotten one or two more original songs here, but as an introductory piece ‘Presenting…’ works well enough. There’s enough flavour in the release to whet the appetite as well as sate any rosy-eyed nostalgics out there. There’s certainly enough to impatiently usher in the summer. Job done.
Alex