Archive for the ‘Punk’ Category
Review: The Skels’ Any Port In A Storm
On June 20, 2008 in Original Music, Pub/Drinking Music, Punk, reviews
Like most of my favorite Celtic punk bands, I first heard The Skels on Shite ‘n Onions on Live365. After hearing Have A Drink Ya’ Bastards I decided that I absolutely had to have at least one of their CDs. It took a few months for me to get around to actually ordering it, but I finally got my copy of Any Port In A Storm, and I love it! The Skels are a perfect blending of Celtic tradition and modern (but not pop) punk. All the songs on this disc are original, and packed with attitude.Chris Freid’s lead vocals are not what you would call smooth. But I love it. Not only his voice, but his attitude suits the band’s punchy music straight down to the ground. I can’t imagine their sound with anyone else in the lead.
I don’t know how the songs are written (individually, collectively, drunk, sober), but the lyrics always crack me up either with their humor or their audacity, and the music itself always makes me want to get up and dance. Wild and drunken style dancing, but dance nevertheless.
I should say that most of The Skels’ songs give me a much appreciated shot of energy. Come Hell Or High Water is actually a beautiful song, calm and wistful. A song like this in a more traditional Celtic band could make a name for the singer.
This isn’t the best cd to play if you’re at work, unless your co-workers are fairly easy going. I can guarantee you that if there’s a prim and proper person nearby, the first thing they’ll hear is the line “balls to your partner, your ass against the wall” (Pauper’s Grave). I can’t tell you how many times it’s happened to me.
If you already love bands in the Celtic Punk genre, absolutely give them a try. If you’re fairly new to the genre, take a listen first. This ain’t no wishy-washy won’t-offend-anyone kind of band.
For a quick taste of the Skel’s music, click here for their MySpace page. Currently, you can even listen to Pauper’s Grave which is my current favorite of their songs.
Or, better yet! Download the MP3s from Amazon:
Flatfoot 56 Review: Jungle of the Midwest Sea
On January 19, 2008 in Punk, reviews
This review was originally written and posted June 2007. When BandVox made the switch to WordPress the URL changed. Please update your bookmarks.
This CD is best played one or two decibels below the pain threshold for two reasons. 1.) the energetic drive deserves high volume, and 2.) because it just sounds better LOUD. Jungle of the Midwest Sea was released May 15, 2007, and fans of their previous album Knuckles Up won’t be disappointed. The music is just as hard, driving, and fun as before but written with their added life experience.
The Galley Slave and Chinatown Jailbreak are getting the most airplay right now, and for a good reason. Their sounds are unique: The Galley Slave has the drum beat of a slave ship, the sound of waves crashing against the ship’s hull, and a slight Mediterranean undertone that can draw you into the feeling that you’re actually there, watching the ancient Christian slaves row for their lives. Chinatown Jailbreak meshes Celtic and Asian themes into the music with Tobin Bawinkle’s vocals remaining strictly hardcore punk.
I would like to add Loaded Gun to that list. It doesn’t get much air play, but it should. You might get cops following you if you start singing “Gun gun, this is my loaded gun” in public, but it’s hard not to. Despite the lyrics, the beat is a bit lighter, less driven, but still with their trademark sound.
These guys don’t just play for entertainment, they’ve got a message to get out. The title track, Jungle of the Midwest Sea, deals with the history of Chicago, their hometown, and particularly about a riot in the meatpacking industry due to some unsavory practices. And Pay Me A Dollar takes a different look at fathers who don’t have time for their families due to their jobs. Rather than taking the view of fathers who prefer climbing the corporate ladder to spending time with their families, they honor the men who have to work their days away just to provide. It’s a view that is often ignored these days, but one worth examining.
While most songs are serious in nature, they also have a bit of fun. I tend to read too much into things, so the line “Wondering if this is how life ends… then the folds come off and it’s all his friends” on Carry ‘Em Out had me convinced that this was a really deep song about gang violence- until the lyric description explained that it’s about the time they kidnapped their own bagpiper and scared the crap out of him. One of the guys also pops up occasionally throughout the album with a really bad accent. If the volume is high enough to hear him, it’s usually good for a chuckle.
In fact, the only song on the disc that comes out a bit weak is the last one, Same Ol Story, not for the lyrics but for the toned down, practically accapella rendition that comes off sounding a little like a highschool boys’ choir singing a hymn. Still, 13 tracks out of 14 being excellent is pretty good odds.
Bonus: Hoity Toity sounds a bit like a hardcore Offspring.