Word: ska
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This past week, veteran ska acts the Pietasters, formed in 1990 in Washington D.C., and the Slackers, formed in 1991 in New York City, each rolled out a new album. Both bands have toured the ska circuit for several years and are just now starting to gain the recognition given to such bands as The Toasters, The Skatalites and The Scofflaws. Each is a seven piece band utilizing the trumpet and saxophone in the horn section. The Pietasters further take on a trombone in their horn section while the Slackers add a keyboard as their seventh piece...
...contrast, Redlight, the first effort on Hellcat for the Slackers as well, offers up the ska beat at its finest. The Slackers combine Latin rhythms, big band and Jamaican reggae to create their own unique sound...
Like the Pietasters horn section, the Slackers trumpet and saxophone lay down a steady beat and background ska tone. While shining on occasional solos, the musicianship of the Slackers is most apparent on a pair of superb instrumentals, "Cooking for Tommy" and "Tin Tin Deo," that mark the album's two opposite musical poles. "Cooking for Tommy" is the opening number on Redlight and is described by the band as "a major key, Latin-goes-ska number" that showcases the band's horns. "Tin Tin Deo," with guest percussionist Larry McDonald, exhibits the significant Jamaican reggae influence on the band...
...ska explosion has brought a couple of horn-based groups to the forefront of the popular modern rock movement. Replete with animated lyrics and cheery melodies, Reel Big Fish revels in their own path to fame with "Sellout." The next time you hear this song, picture two cars swerving down a rural, gravel-paved road on a sunny day with hands swaying outside the driver's side windows. I know I will. Then there is the more serious but just as exciting "The Impression That I Get" by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Although they are musically superior to Reel...
...waited for a friend for hours in the pouring rain--the ballads of the Mountain Goats soar with innocence and purity. For anyone who can stand fervent strumming on an acoustic guitar and isn't bored watching a one-man ban rather than the recent group efforts of ska, Darnielle's music is amusing enough to be entertaining...