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There aren't many bands doing the organ driven reggae in the UK, unlike in Europe or North America, but Erin Bardwell's Pop-a-Top stable of groups are, with a sound closer to that of the late sixties than many of their contemporaries.

We've reviewed material featuring Neville Banton on vocals before, but this is the most authentic and polished offering of his to date. Guns, Bombs & Madness is a melodic yet not overly downcast track with an obvious yet important message. The organ is less prominent than in most Pop-a-Top record tracks, but it isn't missed.

The other offering from the label is by a new signing (with familiar names) The Raydiators. The A-side of this 12" record is a great instrumental dub-reggae track called "The Raydiator". It's all about the fantastic guitar hook, which drives the song along wonderfully.

The B-side features two tracks - the first of which is a vocal track called "Gloria", which is fairly upbeat in contrast to the record's reverse. The vocals should be out the front of the song, but unfortunately they get absorbed by the organ, which is as usual very nice.

The second track, "Django's Gypsy Biscuit" is another instrumental with yet another great guitar lead. The track achieves a nice balance between melancholy and driving.

Buy all Pop-a-Top releases from their website: http://www.popatoprecords.co.uk

Well, at least once a month. If you're in Newcastle for the second Saturday afternoon of the month, get along to Soul Shakedown Party at the View Factory for some sweet sounds in a really nice venue.

We made the nearly three hour train trip north from Sydney yesterday and were surprised to find such a lovely venue in Newcastle, close to both the railway station and the beach. It was a really inclusive crowd, and the music was a great balance of standards and lesser known rocksteady, early reggae and soul tracks.

I'll post details for the next event when they come to hand, as it is a nice little day trip.

This month's free Gargage Land features the folk punk Rumjacks and punky reggae Steppin' Razor. The first band is on at 8 pm, but we'll be spinning the best ska, reggae, punk and soul beforehand. Should be a cracker - they usually are.

View photos from the gig
View videos from the event

It was over two and a half years since Gen and I had been to Melbourne, so the opportunity of a weekend of ska and reggae featuring Canada's The One Night Band was not to be given up...

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Bama-Lama - Saturday October 31, 2009 @ the Order of Melbourne

The Rebelles

C.W. Stoneking (the Masked Marvel)

Ska Nation Night 1 - Sunday November 1 @ the Evelyn

The Hightides

Ska Nation Night 2 - Monday November 2 @ the Corner

One Night Band

One Night Band

(left to right)Glen, Andy, Sarah, Alex, Anthony and Stevie

(left to right)Stevie, Sarah, Gen and Alex

Photos by Gen Murray and Glen Smyth

The Ska is Dead tour, a well established regular jaunt around the USA, has come to Australia. The premise is intelligent enough – include a mix of bands likely to appeal to different tastes to maximise interest. The Australian tour featured The Resignators from Melbourne, Dan Potthast from the United States and One Night Band from Montreal, Canada. Our interest was in One Night Band, having reviewed their excellent CD Hit & Run last year while in the UK. We caught the band’s first Australian show @ the Annandale. The turnout was fairly good for a Thursday night, though disappointingly most weren’t there for the Canadians. Local Sydney act Chris Duke and the Royals, The Resignators and Dan Potthast all got good receptions, but I couldn’t help but being surprised that the ’98 sound that was so big is still around. Still, if it gets people into ska it must be a positive thing.

One Night Band were even better live than they were on their record. They were energetic, tight and most importantly great exponents of the organ driven reggae sound, which is perfect for dancing. I think a lot of the "third-wavers" were surprised at how good they were. Their set included fantastic covers of Desmond Dekker’s Keep a Cool Head and the West Indian favourite Shame and Scandal. Their own material should not be discounted however, as it just as infectious, and enticing enough to win over those who had never heard the band before.

We left their Sydney gig determined to head to Wollongong on the Sunday to see them. Talking to some of the guys on tour, there was a fear that a drive from their Brisbane gig on Saturday night to get to Wollongong Sunday evening was cutting it a bit fine, but we were keen to see the band again. Long story short, it was cutting it too fine, and not all of One Night Band (or The Resignators for that matter) made it to Wollongong that afternoon, so we were left to watch some Wollongong locals – including Val the Greek’s new band Steel City Allstars - and wallow in the misery of missing a performance by one of the best bands knocking about at the moment.

Still, on to Melbourne and the Ska Nation weekend, where we’ll get to see One Night Band for a final time before they head home.

Check out the videos, taken by Gen Murray.

One Night Band - Keep a Cool Head

One Night Band - Trigger

I am a little bit addicted to, the former host of Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Mark Lamarr's BBC radio show God's Jukebox. Each three hour episode streams for a week to help alleviate the time difference pain. Each week he features a live session, which in recent months has included the likes of Pat Kelly with Intensified, The Heptones and The Blockheads. It's not just reggae mind you, but a wonderful mix of soul, blues, rocksteady, ska, bluegrass, gospel and everything in between.

Listen: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006wqj3

You won't be disappointed!