Welcome to “Ska, Punk, and Other Junk!” With this monthly column, I’ll highlight all of the cool things I discovered in the ska and punk scenes each month. And, because I listen to more than just those two genres, I have to make sure I highlight the other junk I discovered along the way too! (NOTE: Not actually junk, I just wanted to go with the rhyme). There’s so much cool stuff out there these days. This is my attempt to cover as much of it as possible.
Hopefully, you find your new favorite band … or at least some cool new tunes to enjoy.
For my inaugural column, I’m taking a listen to some new music, as well as some “new to me” music. For the inaugural edition, I’m focusing on a lot of bands. Normally, I’d expect to have a max of nine in any column, but I found it too hard to cut anyone. Because of that, the inaugural edition is super sized. Without further ado, let’s dive right in.
SKA
The Fuss – In Person
My introduction to The Fuss was their 2018 album, Ourselves. With their music, they put a modern spin on the sound created in the early days of ska, reggae, and rocksteady. Their music is bound to get your toes tapping. If it doesn’t, I might just have to question if you have a soul. Sorry, that might be a bit extreme. True, but extreme. This eight piece from Washington DC had a great outing with Ourselves, but they knock it out of the park with In Person.
One of the first things that grabs me when listening to In Person is just how tight they sound. It’s clear this band has been together long enough to really know how to complement each other. Two-part harmonies, a driving bass line that acts as the heartbeat of each song, ska guitar with ’60s soul mixed in for good measure, and a powerful horn section. All the elements of a great ska album are there. They get their style and sensibility from ’60s ska and mod culture, and if you close your eyes while listening to this album, you could picture them playing in some mod club in London.
Half Past Two – “Curtain Call”
Originally appearing on the Too Hectic California ska compilation from Pay Attention Records, Half Past Two’s “Curtain Call” has now been officially released as a single with a very clever music video. Photographer and Music Video Director, Rae Mystic, created the entire band, as well as numerous sets, within the world of Sims 3. From there, they pieced all the set pieces and action together to release one of the most fun music videos I’ve seen this year. The cleverness and fun of the music video is a perfect fit for SoCal’s Half Past Two. The torch has been passed to them as the keepers of that Orange County ska punk sound. After listening to “Curtain Call,” it’s clear California ska is in good hands.
The Upfux / Noise Complaint – Coastal Collapse (Bad Time Records)
Coastal Collapse could’ve very easily been two EPs, but instead the fine folks at Bad Time Records put them together and showcased some of the best ska core bands out there these days. This isn’t either band’s first rodeo with Bad Time (they’ve appeared on some comps), but it is their first official release on the label. New Jersey’s The Upfux contribute six tracks, while California’s Noise Complaint has five. Even though there are two completely different bands on the split, there are parallels between the two that make this a seamless full-length.
One standout for me from The Upfux is “Wasted Time,” because it shifts from skate punk to ska, to ska core, to hardcore screams and back. It’s an anthemic song highlighting how I think a lot of people are feeling these days. It’s cathartic to pop on your headphones and crank it to full-blast. On the Noise Complaint side, I’m really digging “Suburban Warfare” because it uses aggressive ska punk to speak out about abuse of power by police forces.
If you enjoy Against All Authority, Suicide Machines, Leftover Crack, and Choking Victim, then these two bands will be right up your alley. There’s even a special bonus because they are just as good as STZA’s bands (if not better), but without the problematic behavior attached to them.
Young Costello – Stories Told, Some New, Some Old (Ska Punk International)
When 2022 finally calls it a day, I think Young Costello may end up being my favorite ska music discovery of the year. Before this EP was released, my only real experience with them was an Eddie Murphy cover. In all honesty, that cover didn’t properly prepare me for what Young Costello had in store for me though. Clocking in at over 20 minutes, and spanning over only four songs, you might as well treat this EP like a full length.
Each of the songs are so long because the band is telling multiple musical stories in each of them. I think if I were to compare them with anyone, it would be Streetlight Manifesto, but just mentioning one band doesn’t do them any justice. At any given moment, you’ll hear complete tonal shifts in each song. Think RX Bandits, JB Conspiracy, Grey Matter, and Best of the World.
Each song tells a story that keeps the listener engaged through lyrical content and just how talented this band is musically. It takes a lot of talent to be able to pull off so many different shifts within the structure of a single song so seamlessly. In fact, the first few times I listened to this EP, I completely ignored the lyrics because I just wanted to hear what the band could do with their instruments. There’s lots to enjoy here because it’s not your everyday ska album.
PUNK
Baby Got Back Talk – Existential Shred (Wiretap Records)
After listening to Existential Shred, I think the elevator pitch on this band is “pop punk with heart.” Baby Got Back Talk mixes melodic punk music with synths and mature lyrical content. If this were the mid-’90s, they’d likely be on a label like Drive-Thru. It’s the 2020s though, and they’ve found an amazing home with Wiretap Records, a label that supports their bands, but also doesn’t stifle the DIY entrepreneurship their bands have.
Once you finish listening to the EP, you’ll see why Alternative Press calls Baby Got Back Talk one of the Black Alternative Bands leading the next generation. There’s just so much talent evident with each member of the band. The songs are all 100% catchy. They all have earworms that will get stuck in your head, which is a good thing because the band focuses on some pretty important sociocultural topics on each song. They touch on matters of life, death, and everything in between here, all with radio-friendly vocals and chunky punk/garage guitars in tow.
Celebration Summer – Patience in Presence (A-F Records)
If there’s one thing I’m a sucker for when it comes to punk music, it’s gravelly, gruff vocals. Tim Barry? Brendan Kelly? Chuck Ragan? Ryan Young? Yes please. After listening to Patience in Presence, add Celebration Summer‘s Nate Falger to that list for me now. Combining gruff vocals, with pounding drums, anthemic choruses, melodic guitars, and high speed basslines, this band has what it takes for the long haul.
When I listen to this album, I feel like I’m hearing a super group consisting of members of Against Me!, Hot Water Music, Jawbreaker, and Leatherface. The album is very timely, especially leading up to the mid-term elections here in America. One of the themes of the album is living life in a post-Trump society. Most surprisingly about this band is that they’ve only been together since 2019. If this is how good they sound with only a few years under their belt, imagine how they’ll sound with a bit more seasoning? I honestly can’t wait.
Dropped Out – Get Lost! (Otitis Media Records)
Austin, Texas’s Dropped Out is a band that I was introduced to by Rosey from Hans Gruber and the Die Hards. After listening to Get Lost!, I’m glad she did. Aside from spreading the Dropped Out Gospel, Rosey even offered up some vocals on a couple of tracks on this album. After listening through the album a couple of times, it’s pretty evident that Dropped Out is phenomenal at blending skate punk with pretty mature lyrics.
They tackle deadbeat dads in “Fingers Crossed” and the hopelessness some folks feel in dead end jobs where they aren’t appreciated in “The Quitter.” The whole album is that way with – using skate punk for some serious topics (ala No Use For a Name. Musically, Dropped Out sounds like ’90s skate punk, but lyrically, they are really in tune with the plight of Generation X and Millennials. It’s refreshing to have songs where you feel seen after listening to them.
Norcos Y Horchata – Forever Disheveled
What do you get when you combine the garage punk sounds of bands like The Stooges and MC5 with good old-fashioned rock and roll and power pop? You get Detroit trio Norcos Y Horchata. I’m likely drawing comparisons to the bands I mentioned above because of where each of them are from, but there’s a very retro ’60s garage rock sensibility woven throughout Forever Disheveled. At times, I hear those bands. Other times, I hear The Strokes. Then, likely mostly due to the vocals, I hear one of the classic Fat Wreck bands, Goober Patrol. While Norcos Y Horchata likely draw some inspiration from the bands listed, their sound is one that is fresh and catchy.
Some highlights on the album are “All Roads Lead Downriver,” “Chords Against Humanity,” and “Almost Lost My Thumb (To The Pinewood Derby).” They all have catchy hooks, singalong choruses, and memorable lyrics – both whimsical, tongue in cheek and introspective. “Pinewood Derby” in particular brings back some fond memories of my youth and my career as a pinewood derby racer. Outside of those three tracks, the whole album is filled with some pretty catchy tunes. It’s truly a fun listen.
OTHER JUNK
Highland Drive – “When You Were Perfect”
It’s been 15 years since Upstate New York’s Highland Drive put out new music. There have been some reunion shows here and there, but other than that, things have been relatively quiet as members shifted from band life to non-band life as they aged (the band originally started in 1996 after all). Well, the pandemic changed that. With creative juices flowing again, Highland Drive got back together. Their first effort was “Elations,” which came out in February.
Well, the second fruit that was born from the band working on music again is “When You Were Perfect.” It’s a driving hard rock number, which is an evolution from the band’s earlier, more punk beginnings. Their sound is now more mature, methodical, and intricate. Lots of amazing guitar work and solos. More progressive metal/melodic hard rock than punk. It’s good to see that the band isn’t going back to the well of what they did over a decade ago, instead opting to advance their sound even more.
Mustard – “Mustard Over Money”
When I came across this song, I must admit the main reason I was excited to listen to it is because I was really curious what a song performed by a bottle of mustard would sound like. I must say, it wasn’t what I expected at all (in a good way). On “Mustard Over Money,” Mustard mixes hip hop, synth, and nerdcore to create an anti-capitalist, pro-socialist anthem. If MC Lars or Mega Ran were condiment bottles, they just might be bottles of mustard. I really appreciate the tongue in cheek nature of this song at a surface level. Once you get past that, the point Mustard is trying to make starts to take shape. Great track.
OKnice – Have You Tried Being Happy? (Super Dope Records)
Social Media is a cesspool…a barren wasteland of edgelords and toxic people. Sure, there are ways to curate your feeds to block most of that noise out, but sometimes, the negativity finds a way. The one social network I haven’t really figured out how to curate to the level of twitter, facebook, and instagram is TikTok. Once I log in and start scrolling, I really don’t know what to expect. Well, the fact that TikTok led me to Minnesota indie rapper OKnice is a sign that social media can still be used for good. He arrived in a time in my life where my headspace needed his music. The added bonus is how good it is.
On Have You Tried Being Happy?, OKnice raps about some pretty powerful stuff. Mainstream Hip Hop has a way to focus on excess and superficial moments in life. OKnice, on the other hand, is rapping about some pretty important stuff. Most of his rhymes focus on mental health, disassociation, wealth inequality between employee/boss, and the assorted struggles involved with coping with everyday life.
Honestly, as a 40 something who is still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, these songs hit pretty hard. His flow is as smooth as velvet and his lyrics are pure poetry. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for indie hip hop, and OKnice could go toe to toe with the best on Rhymesayers and Strange Famous. If you like underground hip hop that blends with Midwest emo, and post punk, then look no further. This will be your favorite hip hop album this year.
If you want me to hear your ska, punk, or other junk, please feel free to contact me here. Who knows, you might just see yourself in a future column!