Welcome to âSka, Punk, and Other Junk!â With this monthly column, Iâll 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 highlight some other junk I discovered along the way too! (NOTE: Not actually junk. I just wanted to go with the rhyme). Thereâs so much cool music 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.
As the saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers.” Even though the Midwest weather isn’t quite sure what season it wants to be, we have had plenty of showers, and the flowers are about to bloom. So, whether the rollercoaster weather patterns like it or not, it’s officially Spring. Not only did April get the next season rolling, but it also brought with it a downpour of music releases.
Like I do every month, I try to keep this column as tight and concise as possible, but then when it comes down to actually sitting down and writing it, I just can’t say goodbye to all the new friends I met this month. So, even though I made myself a promise to limit the amount of releases I feature in this new installment of Ska, Punk, and Other Junk, new songs and albums just kept coming. All told, April’s column is another jam-packed offering. I would apologize, but I’m not sorry.
Enjoy reading about your new favorite bands.
Ska
Eichlers –Â DAYS BEFORE MCF
When My Checkered Future came out last year, it ended up being one of my favorite albums of 2022. With it, Eichlers took ska music, emo, trap, and hyper-pop, put it in a blender, and created what became known as hyperska. I’m all for experimentation, so the band provided a refreshing interpretation of a genre I already loved dearly. This month, they’re back with a nine-track mixtape of music created around the time of My Checkered Future.Â
Days Before MCF clocks in at a lean 16 minutes. As someone who listened to Eichlers since before the band completely adopted hyperska, this mixtape shows their musical growth. The real stars here are “B HAPPY” and “WAIT4U.” They both use the musical playfulness and frenetic energy of hyperska as the backbone for some pretty serious topics, namely struggles with happiness and losing touch with childhood friends as you get older. I can relate to both songs more than I’d like to admit.
Faintest Idea –Â The Road to Sedition
From the screaming battle cry “Let’s go!” on “The Machine Stops” to the final a cappella notes on the last track of The Road to Sedition, UK’s Faintest Idea takes you on a journey. This album is angry and unapologetically political. As an American, I’m not as familiar with the specific British politics being described. But there are definitely themes touched on that are very relatable to everyone pushing back against an oppressive government and class system.
Musically, Faintest Idea is firmly on the ska-punk and ska-core spectrum. It feels like each song on this album was meant to be heard live. Almost every track is filled with anthemic choruses and call-and-response vocals. The prominent horns on this album are some of the best I’ve heard all year, with lots of power and melody. It really adds to the music and offers up a full-sounding experience throughout The Road to Sedition.
Omnigone –Â Against the Rest
I bought my first Link 80 album in the late ’90s because the band was on Asian Man Records, and I trusted Mike Park’s taste in music. I wasn’t let down. The group was something special, so I was bummed when they called it quits. Fast forward to 2019, and a new band called Omnigone popped up. They were fronted by Adam Davis from Link 80, and after one listen to No Faith, I was hooked. The tunes were raw and urgent, and I immediately wanted more. It might have taken four years to get a new full-length, but Against the Rest is well worth the wait.
That 2019 debut LP is from a band in its caterpillar phase. Amazing in its own right, but it hints at more beauty from their next stage of life. With Against the Rest, Omnigone has emerged from its cocoon. The songs are tighter, the songwriting is more dynamic, and Davis sounds better than ever.
There’s a sense of community and living your best life no matter what woven throughout the entire album. The messages are very life-affirming and motivational. The songs will light a fire under you to actually accomplish that one thing you’ve been putting off because you think you don’t have the time to do it.
As Davis says in “Relentless:”
Until this heart stops beating
Until the dying breath
Forward, never retreating
Relentless
Omnigone is one of my favorite bands to come out within the last decade, and Against the Rest further cements their place towards the top. The album is ska-core perfection, and it should be talked about for years as the epitome of the genre. I have no doubt it will remain on the top of my best of 2023 list. It’s just that good.
Plastic Presidents – Good Times Can’t Last
I didn’t realize it until just now, but ska-core and ska-punk had a really good showing in April. Plastic Presidents are one of the newer kids on the block, and their debut album on Ska Punk International is chock full of good tunes. Good Times Can’t Last is my first dose of this seven-piece ska-punk band from Nebraska.
The album is definitely firmly in the ska-punk realm, but the band also dabbles in hardcore, straight-forward punk, and even a bit of 2 Tone inspired music. If you’re a fan of bands like Omnigone, Against All Authority, Joystick, Joker’s Republic, or Public Serpents, then Plastic Presidents will be right up your alley.
The independent music scene only grows when people support the newer bands, so if you like ska-punk, I implore you to check out this album. You’ll be able to say, “I remember when” in a few years when Plastic Presidents are one of the scene’s heavy hitters. Mark my words, you’ll be hearing a lot about this band in the years to come.
The Prizefighters – “Kick the Can”
To put it bluntly, Minnesota’s Prizefighters are one of the best bands in the modern ska scene today. Musically, they’re aligned with the more traditional ’60s Jamaican sound. Using the best elements of traditional Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae, they’ve created a sound that both honors the past and pushes the genre forward. “Kick the Can” honors the sounds of the ’60s, but includes their own updated twist. I put them up there with the likes of The Slackers, Westbound Train, Hepcat, and The Aggrolites in terms of talent.
Ahead of their upcoming full-length, The Prizefighters released “Kick the Can.” It’s a danceable and uptempo track with a strong reggae lean. A lyrical call to action, it focuses on the global climate change crisis and encourages people to reverse the direction the world is headed. Through the upbeat and catchy music, the band gives you a song that is easy to groove and dance to but also offers an important message to absorb during subsequent listens.
Punk
Frenzal Rhomb – The Cup of Pestilence
I still remember the first time I heard Australia’s Frenzal Rhomb. It was in 1996 on Fat Music Volume 2: Survival of the Fattest, and the song was “Run.” I’ve been a fan of this band for the last 27 years, but I was pretty spoiled in the late ’90s. Frenzal Rhomb put a few albums out on Fat Wreck Chords and toured the US several times, including support for Blink-182 and Less Than Jake, a Warped Tour or two, and a headlining tour. They haven’t really toured the U.S. much since those days, but thankfully, Frenzal Rhomb hasn’t stopped making music. Their latest effort, back on Fat Wreck Chords, is The Cup of Pestilence.
One of the things that makes Frenzal Rhomb so special is that it’s pretty evident they’re having a hell of a time making music together. If you’re in a band for over 30 years, that’s important for the band’s longevity. They have moments of seriousness in their music, but there’s always a certain level of humor, exaggeration, and sarcasm throughout. Those traits are paired with fast and heavy riffs, machine gun drums, and high-energy music.
What makes this album even better is that it was recorded and produced by Bill Stevenson (of Descendents’ fame) and Jason Livermore at The Blasting Room. Stevenson and Livermore have been involved with the best of the best in the punk scene, so it’s fitting that Frenzal Rhomb records with them, too. Now, we just need to figure out a way to get these guys back over to the states for a tour.
Goodbye Blue Monday – Let’s Go Goodbye Blue Monday By Goodbye Blue Monday
If it wasn’t for Bandcamp Friday, I’d have no idea who Goodbye Blue Monday is. I usually just skim promotional emails, but the album’s cover grabbed my attention. I kept reading and eventually gave the band a chance. I’m so glad I did, because Let’s Go Goodbye Blue Monday By Goodbye Blue Monday was the album I needed to hear this month. Clocking in at just under 40 minutes, Goodbye Blue Monday uses power pop punk to sing about mental health and anxiety. As someone who has fought with those issues for years, I gravitate towards music like this because it acts as a coping device. Bonus points for this album is that it absolutely rocks.
Usually, my go-to band for this type of escape is Off With Their Heads, but Goodbye Blue Monday earned a place at the table with this album. The songs are fast, fun, and so damn relatable. “I’m Old & I’m Fat & I Still Hate Myself” hits particularly close to home these days for instance. Goodbye Blue Monday’s brand of punk has been coined misery punk, but, to be completely honest, that’s a lazy description. There’s a certain level of catharsis involved with listening to songs that remind you that you’re getting older and are closer to death with nothing to show for it but debt.
Bar Stool Preachers – Above the Static
Above the Static showcases more maturation and progression for the Bar Stool Preachers. Where their first two albums occupied the ska-infused punk space, Above the Static allows the band to stretch their muscles. There’s very little ska this time around, and it’s musically more The Clash than it is The Ramones. That sonic growth makes Above the Static that much more of an interesting listen.
The album starts with “Call Me on the Way Home,” with a chorus that would echo nicely throughout an outdoor arena. With plenty of “whoa-ohs” and anthemic choruses throughout, some of the most poignant moments on the album find the band stepping out from their comfort zones. For example, “Lighthouse Keeper” is a beautiful song featuring lead singer Tom McFaull with only piano accompaniment. It’s completely different than anything on the album, and it shows how versatile Bar Stool Preachers are as musicians.
As someone who married his high school sweetheart, “All Turned Blue” also strikes a familiar chord. It’s an up-tempo punky love song about being in love and staying in love. On other tunes, the Preachers delve into mental health. It’s important to have honest conversations about these matters, so if music makes it easier for folks to do so, the more the better.
Wicked Bears – Underwater
Wicked Bears blend the ’90s pop-punk Lookout! sound from bands like Screeching Weasel with a more melodic punk sound like The Menzingers. I think this pop-punk trio could hold their own against most ’90s pop-punk heavyweights. Their music is catchy, smart, energetic, and filled with great songwriting. An example of those skills can be heard in “Lies.” The lyrics contradict themselves and lie to the person being sung to throughout the entire song.
Some bands are high-energy, others are catchy, and some are smart. It’s always special to find a group that can incorporate all three traits into their music. Wicked Bears is one such band, complete with some ska upstrokes and occasional Matt Skiba-esque vocals. There’s a lot to like with Wicked Bears, especially if you’re sick of cookie-cutter pop-punk.
Other Junk
Codefendants – This is Crime Wave
For the uninitiated, Codefendants got their start when Get Dead front man Sam King met rapper Ceschi Ramos. Through their shared experiences in life involving prison and drugs, the two became friends and started making music. NOFX frontman Fat Mike produced their first few tracks and subsequently joined the band.
With This is Crime Wave, Codefendants set off to make a genre-less record, and they’ve succeeded. No single style of music dominates. You’re going to hear hip-hop, ska, flamenco, acoustic, and punk.
The album rewards multiple listens. It’s an amazing, but tough, listen,. As you can imagine from the band’s origins and its name, the topics they cover aren’t light in nature. There’s a lot here about the fentanyl epidemic in America, police brutality, prison, and racism.
Not only does This is Crime Wave switch things up from song to song, but they also change things up during the songs. The musical arrangement in a song like “Suicide by Pigs” offers hints of David Bowie and The Beatles before abruptly shifts to a fast-paced punk song. Even the lyrics play with multiple meanings, addressing both police brutality and failed love.
This isn’t the only raw and emotional moment on the album. On “Disaster Scenes,” Bad Cop, Bad Cop’s Stacey Dee opens up about sexual abuse that happened to her as a child. It’s a painful listen, but it fits the theme of the song, which is how terrible and haunting things teach you and shape who you become.
IRONTOM – ” Con Artist”
If you’ve been reading my offerings with any sort of consistency, then you’re aware of how much I love getting to a show early to catch the openers. I’ve learned about some of my favorite bands this way, and I believe in supporting everyone band on the bill. This is how I discovered IRONTOM.
Six years ago, they opened for Arkells on their tour. I knew nothing about them, but when their set ended, I was hooked. The band’s sound and energy won me over that night. Lead singer Harry Hayes commanded the stage with the presence of Iggy Pop and the voice of Davey Havok. He was backed by a psychedelic sonic assault that was one part post-punk and one part Queens of the Stone Age.
I can only hope their new song “Con Artist” means a new full-length will arrive soon. If not, it’ll be enough to tide me over … for now. The tune reveals how IRONTOM has grown considerably since that opening set in 2017, as it’s lyrically more stream of consciousness in nature than previous efforts. This lack of structure also allows IRONTOM to play with the music a bit too. There’s driving synth throughout reminiscent of late-era Smashing Pumpkins (but better), as well as hypnotic psychedelia. Ultimately, “Con Artist” is a sarcastically self-aware criticism of society. Who really are the con artists around you? Is one of them you?
Various Artists – Mooorree Than Just Another Comp!
Sure, I could’ve put this compilation in either the ska or punk section of this column. But I didn’t want it to get pigeon-holed into one genre though. Following the success of their Rancid tribute comp, the folks at Sell the Heart and Lavasocks outdid themselves with an Operation Ivy tribute album as the second in the series (at least, I hope this will be a series). Aside from it being a level up from the already superb Rancid comp, Mooorree Than Just Another Comp is also extremely ambitious. Instead of only focusing on Op Ivy’s most popular tracks, the project clocks in at 33 tracks, which means it features essentially every song Op Ivy ever released.
When a band covers a song, I want them to put their spin on the track. Hearing a chord-for-chord copy of the original track is uninspiring. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen here. Of course, there’s a healthy dose of ska punk, but this comp also includes Riot Grrrl, chiptune, hyperska, Gulf Coast big brass, acoustic folk-punk, and more. The variety and the way each band interpreted their song makes this such a fun comp.
I love finding comps to learn about new-to-me bands, and this one no different. One of my favorite discoveries was Sweet Gloom, as they covered “Jaded,” with a bit of a mini tribute to another Bay Area band. Other highlights include Flying Raccoon Suit putting their Gulf Coast stamp on “Missionary,” Eichlers turning “Unity” on its side with his brand of hyperska, and “Vulnerability” from Neckscars.
If you want me to listen to your ska, punk, or other junk, please feel free to contact me here. You might just see yourself in a future column!