For fans of: Ska acts who offer genre variety and good musicianship, but know their main job is to make people move on the dance floor.

I don’t know how Ruder Than You were never on my ska radar – they’ve been together off and on since 1989 and have released a bunch of records including 2 on the most prominent ska record label of the 90s, Moon Ska Records.
The band, hailing from Philadelphia, have a sound that sits quite strongly in the USA third wave, but with the benefit of different influences and time to hone their craft, something which many bands lacked around 1998 in the USA. If I had to find another reference point, bands like Let’s Go Bowling or even Moon Ska’s Bucket Hingley’s own band The Toasters come to mind. However, Ruder Than You are probably a little harder to pin down than these other two groups because of their wider mix of ska, rootsy reggae with some dancehall and punk influences.

The bass driven intro instrumental pRaise HaVoc (as it reads on the CD cover) reaches a crescendo, leading into the rather horny thrash metal-like (at least in the chorus) Baby Tonight and the upbeat Creation Sounds, where saxophonist Doug Dubrosky really shows what he can do. The next track is Faith, which has a strong groove and a nice enough sentiment (even if I disagree about the source of the sentiment).

The last two songs of the album are the highlights; with the kicked back Give the People What They Need showing how well a simple upbeat ditty can work and The Witch making it clear Ruder Than You’s talents are broad with a minor key rootsy number.

Favourite tracks: Give the People What They Need

Overall: An impressive album that sits well in the contemporary setting, while still having strong connections to America’s most popular period for ska music.

Available from: http://www.ruderthanyou.net

For fans of: Crude, obnoxious punk fashioned in way that will be fairly new to you.

With a style described as gutter calypso, I found it hard to form any sort of expectation of this record. Consequently, I’ve never heard anything quite like it. It’s not pure novelty, although there is plenty of that. It’s not what I would call youthful rough-round-the-edges DIY recording, although that it is at the essence. So what is it? It’s well polished uninhibited smut, with a splattering of steel drum, and I actually quite like it.

I’d like to say the humour in this record, which is plentiful, was clever and layered, but it’s difficult to claim with songs such as Pee in the Butt and Commando. Calypso was already in the gutter, but this band takes it one step further to cross a line I would imagine not everyone would be comfortable with.

The music is what makes the record for me. Take away all the joke lyrics and what you have is a fusion of punk rock and a West Indian sound that is not often attempted, but in this case works well. The Donkey Song is an infectious catchy example of these two styles. The band’s cover of Jump in the Line, is close to being sacrificial, but it fits with their style.

Favourite tracks: Donkey song, Jump In the Line

Overall: The band doesn’t claim to be everyone’s cup of tea, and I’m sure that’s the case, but if you like a laugh with you dose of punk, have a listen to this record.

Available from: http://www.guttercalypso.net

For fans of: Laid-back reggae with some hip-hop and soul mixed in.

I don’t know that I’ve ever received such a comprehensive press pack from an independent band before, but such effort must be commended. Kapakahi successfully attempts to present a strong message of the benefits of diversity, not only through their music, but their image and rhetoric. The band hail from San Francisco, although one could easily mistake the West Coast act as Hawaiian, with their laid back grooves and the assorted genres they draw from.

The opening title track Light Up is the best of the seven on this short album. It is an up-tempo number with a positive loving message and a memorable hornline. Download it free from the Kapakahi website. It’s love song after love song on this record and I’m afraid lyrically no song particularly stands out. Apart from Light Up, the other pick off this CD is Closer. Again it is the saxophone that lifts the song above mediocrity through its complementing of the vocal melody. The songs are as laid back as one could get with the tracks Miss Irie and Lonely, which is good if you love your Sunday afternoon reggae, but after Light Up I was just left wanting something with a bit more life. Put it down to my own taste perhaps.

Favourite tracks: Light Up, Closer

Overall: It’s a little bit too easy listening for me, but I genuinely believe the purpose of the band’s direction is achieved. I can see this record appealing to an eclectic musical taste, but for me I wanted more tracks with the life of Light Up.

Available from: http://www.kapakahimusic.com

Megalith Records

For fans of: Ska and reggae with more polish than grit.

Channel One only recently made it on to the Dizzybeat radar thanks to some coverage on Musicaloccupation.com. Hailing from San Antonio, USA they have a new record out on The Toasters’ label, Megalith. I had to scrounge around for some context to the release and the band, and I am glad I bothered, because context is everything, after all. In other reviews, the alt country label gets thrown into the description of their sound, something I’m not sure the band would be too happy about, having made it clear that they’d prefer that no distinct labels be attached to their sound (apart from ska and reggae I guess). However, the polish I would associate with alt country is definitely evident with Channel One, and while a gritty sound is very common in the world of contemporary ska and reggae, such polish is a welcome change.

Pose & Posture is a fairly brief album with ten songs, though it makes sense given the time associated with recording and the need for a band to build recognition with listeners. After a short introduction from Rob “Bucket” Hingley, the upbeat Please makes a great start to the album. I Let My Guard Down is a more conventional sounding ska track, and is my way into this album. It sits well with the track Hum in that it is more what I expect to hear from a ska album. It’s on other tracks such as Let Her Run and Til It’s Too Late (which has an excellent guitar effect through the verse), where I am forced to open my mind.

Favourite track: Over the course of a dozen listens, Jah became my favourite song. It’s a comment on the variety of religions and their relationships, but it is handled in a very clever and paradoxically positive way. It, more than the other songs steeped in personal rhetoric, speaks to me as someone who is generally very cynical.

Overall: This is an album I’ve been happy to have stuck in the CD player. Personally, I would prefer other band members to pick up some more of the vocal harmonies, but instead they tend to have the horns doing the job, which I’m not so keen on. Also, for a band wanting to be taken seriously for their strength of song writing, I’d move away from generic cover art, but that aside, it is a very considered album with the potential for broad interest. The musicianship is excellent and in many respects quite conventionally ska. The very personal lyrical style of Gerald Hooper is quite endearing and while his voice isn’t something you’ll hear regularly in a ska band, it will be a key element in their success.

ForeignDub
http://www.foreigndub.com

For fans of: Roots, dub, dancehall, hip hop

Having seen The Versionaries perform live at Dynamite Sounds some time ago, I can attest to the fact that they will nice up the dance as the first song on this record states is their aim. This is a key point for me - with my own personal love of classic reggae and ska, when I come to review a dub and roots album, I still want it to be upbeat and danceable, at least in part.

The Versionaries are a Sydney based, New Zealand bred collective whose latest album, aptly named We Come Again, is a selection of remixes and collaborations. Overall, the album is a very good balanced offering. A song such as Stay Afloat, an excellent vocal dancehall track, and my favourite track of the album, is well complemented by more laid-back dub grooves in tracks such as Chance (Solaa Remix) or Bhutee Dub. Janny Casanova, former Rastawookie singer, pops up on Created Time, a rootsy jazzy number with a great horn line and another highlight.

Vocals on one or two of the tracks are a little bit rough round the edges – the eternal problem for the antipodean MC is their accent, which you either like or you don’t, but it doesn’t affect the silken smooth tone of this album. In terms of lyrics, the album goes a long way to convince me that not all roots and dub bands can only offer very token chorused cries for peace without any solutions. By contrast, each song has its own story without disconnecting from the listeners, which not only the Versionaries should be credited for, but also the artists they’ve remixed.

Favourite tracks: Stay Afloat, Created Time

Overall: We Come Again isn’t an album for those who love heavy bass driven dub, but I would suggest that makes it accessible to many more listeners. It is an album of melody with a strong focus on attention to detail: the mixing is quite skilfully done. It’s a shame I am unfamiliar with original artists’ tracks to offer a comparison, but stand alone, the album will satisfy a roots and dub fan’s tastes.

Album available from: Most Australia record shops (MGM distribution) or online @ http://www.waterfrontrecords.com

Rockers Revolt
http://www.rockersrevolt.com

For fans of: reggae in its many guises, particularly at the dub end of the spectrum

Pama International was one of the busiest bands in the UK during 2008 and it doesn’t look as though 2009 is going to get any quieter for the reggae act. Their latest project, which includes the album in question and a 2009 tour, is called Highrise and aims to focus attention on the need to curb the amount of knife and gun crime in the country.

It is a poignant issue here in the UK, with incidents of serious violence occurring on a regular basis. The album itself (well the first half) takes aim at this issue using a variety of versions of the Pama International song Highrise, first found on their last album, Love Filled Dub Band. Singer Michie One is the vocalist on the original track, a call for the young to settle, over the classic Cherry Oh Baby rhythm, while the likes of Dennis Al Capone, Billy Bragg, Wrong Tom and Mungos Hi Fi offer their names and talents to the versions.

You’ll want to like the Cherry Oh Baby rhythm to buy this album then, but I don’t imagine there are many reggae fans that don’t. Having seen Dennis Alcapone perform earlier this year and been entirely absorbed by his skills, I found his version my favourite. His yelps and squeals, mixed with a relaxed lyrical delivery, make him a particularly entertaining performer. He’s also had years to master how to complement the original vocalist. Another favourite performer, Billy Bragg, is next up. I was slightly disappointed he didn’t offer something knew – it is simply To Have and Have Not over the rhythm, but it is interesting to hear it as a reggae track. Wrongtom’s dub is fairly standard and Mungos Hi Fi provide a dubstep version, which although it is not my thing, shows talent, and is probably the most diverse of the versions.

Rudeboy Corner Records
http://www.rudeboycorner.com

For fans of: Soulful swinging ska and reggae

Rarely does an entire album grab my interest. It isn’t surprising, as we all have different tastes and favour different styles of Jamaican music. Bands have the difficult job of trying to cater to different predilections and rarely are they completely successful. The better road to take may be to do what you do best and hope that people like it, and that is the option one feels Mr T-bone and the Young Lions have taken with their album, Heroes. And they hit the spot.

If you had to make comparisons, I suppose The Pietasters or Spearhead could get a mention, but there is a European flavour and a quirkiness that gives the band their very own identity. Take a track like, The president of the republic of bananas. It is a song about the attitude of rogue heads of state, not a new topic, but done in a different way and with a great catchy up-beat number. I’ve backed calls by others that some ska bands aren’t forthright enough in their positions, but Mr T-bone can’t be accused of that. Alongside Republic of bananas, we have a series of songs, such as Money and Excuse me that send a strong message in a frank, but not oversimplified fashion, while maintaining music that provides for dancing.

The more upbeat numbers are my favourite, but the slower songs such as the minor key Somewhere or dubbed out Me and my soul provide a variety that is welcome and sophisticated in its musicianship. It’s worth mentioning here that Mr T-bone himself has written, arranged and produced the entire album, and done so very successfully. Some of the English is a little amiss, but it doesn’t affect the enjoyment I gain from listening to this great record.

Favourite Tracks: The president of the republic of bananas, Excuse me, Let ‘em go.

Overall: It was with great pleasure that I reviewed this album. You won’t find a more soulful swinging contemporary ska album this year. Buy it for someone for Christmas and then borrow it.

Album available from: http://www.rudeboycorner.com
Mr T-bone on the web: http://www.mrtbone.com