Dan P. & The Bricks – Watch Where You Walk

[ad]

©2011 Asian Man Records
Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆

When I first heard about this band I was quite excited. The group is a bit of a ska dream team, if you will. When I heard that there was going to be a release this year I was even more exited. “Watch Where You Walk” is the new album by Dan P and the Bricks; You’re going to have to be patient though the album drops on 11/29/2011 on Asian Man Records, natch.

For those of you unfamiliar, Dan P is, of course, Dan Potthast of MU330 fame. The Bricks, not to be out-pedigreed, feature members of Slow Gherkin. Combined, the results are that mythical situation where the result is greater than the sum of the parts. But with a 5 piece horn section, dual guitars, organ bass and drums, the math can’t be too far off.

The music is straight up ska goodness with everything I love about the respective members bands, and about ska overall. On top of the tradition, Dan P & The Bricks make the style their own, and an awesome style it is.

While each track is pretty much a gem, a couple of the best are: 1. Watch Where You Walk, 4. Set Sail (Which is a new version from Dan’s Eyeballs release) and 5. One Reason (has great point/counter point male female vocals). Honestly I’m having a hard time pulling favorites.

In addition to the great music, the band is down for a cause. Their focus is to play locally and raise money for local charities. How’s that for rad music with a conscious and a voice for change! (Fund raisers so far have included benefit concerts for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Hospice of Santa Cruz County, Haitian earthquake relief, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, Doctors without Borders, and The Surf City AIDS Ride benefiting The Santa Cruz AIDS Project.)

So let’s hear it for some fresh off the shelf ska at its shiny new best. Maybe we’re finally gonna get the next wave. You can get more info about the band and get yourself a copy over at asianmanrecords.com

–Jerry Actually

For fans of: Ska, MU330, Slow Gherkin, The Slackers, The Toasters

Watch Where You Walk Tracklisting:
1. Watch Where You Walk
2. Fan
3. Footdown
4. Set Sail
5. One Reason
6. Map of the Stars
7. Mess It Up
8. Heartbeat Survival
9. Completely True
10. Connecting Four
11. Sweat For It
12. Quit On Me