It’s quite astonishing The Slackers have been around for around 15 years and have outlived a ska revival about three times. They’ve seen most of their peers and influences – and bands who have scored mainstream success on their coattails – die, reunite and then die again. And for all of their hard work and endevours The Slackers have never really ever struck gold. A great band they may be, and highly thought of in underground circles, for whatever reason they have never managed to get the success their hard work has probably deserved.
I’ve lost count of how many official releases the band have had (eight albums and countless EPs and splits) and the skinny is that if you’ve enjoyed the band up to now, you will most certainly enjoy this record too. Vic Ruggerio’s a great storyteller and this record is filled full of decent songs. I do think this record is about three or four songs too long at 15 – for me it should have finished on the dub version of ‘Ain’t No Sunshine‘ – and at times the album cries out for a bit more pace and oomph. ‘Bo Evil’ is a dance-tastic track, but a couple more like that would not have gone amiss. Still, we all know what to expect from The Slackers and while ‘The Great Rocksteady Swindle’ may not re-ignite the need for yet another ska revival, it’s a decent record nonetheless.