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Damn, sometimes I wish this was my job so I could be all like, “Damn, I love my job!” As it is, the only payment I get from this little hobby is the whole world of music that I get left on my doorstep, if you will.
What I’m listening to right now is “M.S.G. To Rudy” (as in the oh so delicious seasoning that makes you crave the Colonel’s chicken fortnightly) from the band Phat Meegz. The band hails from that tiny island at the bottom of Australia. You know the one famous for devils and commercial meat slicers? (ok, maybe Hobart Corp isn’t from Australia, but Hobart is the capital of Tasmania, therefore it should be from there.) At any rate, straight outta Tasmania, Phat Meegz is self-described as, “crusty reggae hardcore shit on like, a sublime/crack rock steady tip, with all the retarded braindead flavour so typical to Australia.” I will not disagree.
M.S.G. To Rudy delivers 12 gritty tracks with a heavy dose reggae swagger (and maybe Old Spice Swagger) as well as the more crack rocksteady punkish flavor of Leftover Crack, INDK, Morning Glory etc. On top of that, track 11 reminds me of the ska/punk band, Knowledge (a Link 80 related project off of Asianman a few years back) It is intriguing though, beneath the rather convoluted veneer, there seems to be some genuine soul. Track six, for instance, with a title like “For a Girl” things might seem immediately trite. However, I feel like there is a little more going on there. Damnit, there is some emotion going on in these songs. … I guess that isn’t so crack rocksteady after all, is it?
When you boil it all down though, M.S.G To Rudy has got enough back beat and horns to please the ska kids and a generous amount of down note calypso for those that prefer their island sound a bit slower. As if that wasn’t already enough, there is still the whole crust-o-matic throat sheering thrash explosion that graces a few tracks. If you like reggae and/or ska at all, or if you’re just some kind of d-bag hater, check Phat Meegz out, why don’t ya?
–Jerry Actually
Check the band out and stream the album here: www.phatmeegz.bandcamp.com or if you want to order a real object made out of plastic and other space age polymers, try sending an email here: emandc at gmail dot com