Mustard Plug – In Black And White (c) 2007 Hopeless Records
I was pretty excited when I heard that there was going to be a brand new Mustard Plug CD. As soon as I got a chance to give it a listen, I was all over it. There is an amazing resurgence of the early 90’s ska going on right now and to be perfectly honest, I’m a bit surprised that the Plug are one of the ones who made it through. I’m happy as hell that they did and I admire their tenaciousness in taking the band from silly to serious.
These seasoned veterans of the third wave have made a glorious return. It brings me back to a time about 15 years ago when ska was fun and not so many creepy kids wanted to be all emo. The years and miles have help to shape Mustard Plug’s sound, however.
Recorded at the legendary Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Co, In Black and White bursts with an immense amount of energy and talent, but harbors a more cynical overtone than past efforts. Bill Stevenson helps lend a more aggressive edge to the tracks. Songs like Time To Wake Up even seem downright dark, but don’t let the seriousness of the CD bring you down. It still will put every last one of your brains on ska.
–Jerry Actually