Category: Ska

Catch 22 – Permanent Revolution (c)2006 Victory RecordsAs I sit and listen to this Catch 22 release, I must say this is one of the best from the ska-punk band from New Jersey.  Having all their other releases, I must say I was excited to hear the newest one.  Now I must say that the first couple of times through this CD I thought it was kinda slow and different, but the more you listen to it the more I love it.  The CD explores the life of Leon Trotsky and it is very interesting how the story is told.  Catch 22 has brought us yet another great Disc and their live performance to back it up cements that.  I hope that Catch 22 will continue to bring us great music 'cause I know I will be listening.  I will give this CD 4.5 checkerboards out of 5, so pick it up and dance your ass off!!!

Less Than Jake – In With The Out Crowd (c) 2006 Sire RecordsFor all of you out there anxiously awaiting the new Less Than Jake release, "In With The Out Crowd", save your money. Less Than Jake has finally become the definition of their name. The pre-release CD that I was sent is so fucking encrypted that it wont even play on my PC. If they can't trust the people that are giving their bands press, why do the labels even bother to send anything at all? The CD works fine in the home and car stereo and guess what, it sounds like Less Than Jake, only less than. Ha! get it — less than. Seriously though Johnny Quest should have saved his opinion until more recently. "In With The Out Crowd" contains 12 tracks of radio pop friendly ska tinged songs that are trying to hard to still seem edgy. I hope that this CD was meant to fulfill a poorly considered contract, because if this is serious, I'm done listening.

Shanty Town – One More Last Chance© 2006 Mad Butcher RecordsSoulfull ska and reggae from Barcelona Spain, sporting a female fronted ensemble with sounds reminiscent of bands such as Isaac Green and the Skalars, and the legendary Skatalites, and a latin feel ala Jump with Joey. Very smooth mello and relaxing stuff. Shanty Town offers up 11 well done tracks especially catering to the jazz-ska style, though the CD never really gets into a real fast pace, the music has a nice flow and the tracks smoothly coalesce into each other. This is great Monday morning music that gently lifts you up and eases you into your day.{mos_sb_discuss:3}

Too Much is not Enough© 2005 Madbutcher Records Once again I get to reap some of the benefits of the German Ska scene and more specifically Bavaria, which appears to be a veritable hotbed of ska. I originally heard of The Baboonz through the 4 band split CD "Four of a Kind" which I reviewed previously. This time around it is a full length 13 track disc of their own. Though formed in 1998 things didn't get going until 2001. Since then they have played over 150 live shows through out Europe with a lot of heavy weight acts. I find that they hold their own with their catchy upbeat songs of anti-racism and anti-intolerance, good melody and great horns and just a touch of the blues. There are some punkish bits and some more traditional reggae sounds. Imagine Skankin' Pickle meets Bunny White meets The Invaders. Just to prove that their good, The Baboonz even Have Dr. Ring Ding on track 10 "A Change For The Better" – now that's a seal of approval, plus I hear they know how to throw a good party.{mos_sb_discuss:3}

Plowking – Plant The Foot©2005 Mad Butcher Records South Germany brings us more smooth ska in the band Plowking. I don't know if they got their name from Homer "Mr. Plow" Simpson's rival, but I suspect they did. Aside from that, "Plant The Foot" is 9 full ska tracks and a happy melodic intro. I can't really surmise if Europe is behind the times in the ska scene, or there is just a way larger appreciation over there. None the less, I love the fact that there is still an outlet for quality diverse ska across the world, even though it is a bit of a popularity nadir here in the states. I couldn't glean a whole lot of info from the bands website and I just threw away the one sheet, so I'll just have to express that Plowking is a sweet 8 piece ska band. They embody a commonality and purpose that makes the world less huge, from despising the highschool hero to appreciating a sunny day when the cops aren't around. Good times, good music. Let's all have some beers and enjoy Plowking.{mos_sb_discuss:3} www.plowking.de www.madbutcher.de  

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© 2005 Mad Butcher Records

Umbrella Bed brings me back to the glory days of the third wave harkening the likes of Undercover SKA and Mock Turtle Soup. The unusually named Minnesota ska outfit plays a handsome blend of ska with soul with a klezmer touch. Oddly for an American band, they have a strangely European sound…go figure.

Bottom line: extremely likeable and very danceable.

http://www.umbrellabed.com
http://www.madbutcher.de

-Jerry Actually