King Blues, Sonic Boom Six and Random Hand Photo Special

King Blues, Sonic Boom Six and Random Hand

So this week I went to see the kind of line up which would have caused a wet dream in my youth and now at the age of twenty four excites me just as much but I have developed coping mechanisms for such excitement.

Joking aside this one one of the most exciting line ups I have seen in a very long time, it's not often you get to see three headline quality acts for the price of one (unless you come to Thirsty and Miserable shows of course). Opening the night with Random Hand is like waking up to your alarm on buzzer from the very first moment of the intensely compact set these young men from Yorkshire tore the stage up. With tracks from their new record sounding every bit as catchy as the older material. I can safely say Random Hand are one of the UK's most exciting live bands and every time I see them I enjoy them even more.

Sonic Boom Six were next to take the stage and delivered the genre clashing brilliance I have grown to love over the past decade in which I have seen them play umpteen times. They are a band who in my opinion will never surpass their first two albums but I think my love of these is partially due to the memories tracks on them hold rather than the music being superior. As the band develop their sound further it does become more and more varied allowing almost anyone to watch them live and find areas they enjoyed. I could never accuse SB6 of not putting 100% into their live performance and this was another fine example of how to successfully blend vast musical influence into a fantastic live set.

Last up were the King Blues who began the show with a ferocious track from the new album which in Itches own words is 'a modern day punk album' and the new material did not disappoint in this way at all it's heavy and political passion is beautifully delivered. It was however the mixture between old and new which created an unforgettable live set for me  the combination of the three albums work was almost like skipping through the greatest hits of The King Blues and made me realise just how much I have enjoyed this band and how many amazing tracks there are in their back catalog.

It was not until the encore where two moments took my breath away firstly Itch delivered a beautiful entitled '5 Bottles of Shampoo' to a stunned audience who stayed quiet (mostly) for the full duration of the poem. The second moment was also the moment that made me realise exactly how important music is to politics to hear an entire audience interject into a song with the words 'Going to war to prevent war, is the most stupid thing I've ever heard' was both powerful and emotive.

It looks like 'Punk and Poetry' will be one of the albums of year regardless of my opinion but I've got to say I can't wait to hear it and see how it's received.  

The Breadchasers - Time to stop (Offcut Records)

This debut album from Nottingham based The Breadchasers is only the second to be released on Offcut records which is owned and run by Jimmy The Squirrel front-man and artist in his own right Liam O’Kane. As you would expect from hearing JTS or Liam’s work the record has a strong reggae and ska influences.

From the off it’s apparent that this record is going to be good, the intro has a laid back tropical feel to it and moves into the first full track seamlessly. Vocally it’s always nice to hear a local accent coming through rather than a singer trying to sound like they’re from somewhere else. The vocals are multi layered and at times the passion comes through in a rough sound which would be at home on any punk record. 

As the album progresses the style is consistent without becoming boring, there is a definite combination of old and new styles of ska music. Vocally there is a vintage edge to the style which bears comparison with Terry Hall, Squeeze or Suggs without sounding like an imitation. Musically there is an incredible mixture of first, second and third wave ska with a very British feel mixed together with the obvious reggae elements. There are definitely small influences form the skacore of the early noughties with Capdown and Shooting Goon as obvious examples these are combined with a stylish mix of Skatalites and Slackers. The main comparison I personally found immediately on listening to the album was with many of the acts on Asian Man Records in the USA.

There are definite elements of Let’s Go Bowling, The Chinkees and Skanking Pickle in amongst the vast influences on the Breadchasers’ strylee. For me the three above bands are responsible for taking ska into another level where it wasn’t all about brass lines and upstroke and it’s nice to hear this come through in music with brass and upstroke to continue the progression.

There is a lot of depth to the record and it is musically incredibly complex, the brass-lines help to back up the points made both musically and vocally. At times the brass is used to create further rhythms allowing the musical depth to really shine through. At times the combination of brass, deep bass and organs create a tropical dub feel to tracks which adds balance to the whole album.

This is a record, which will be sure to warm your bones on cold winter nights. Considering it’s the first record from The Bread Chasers it’s pretty obvious there will be big things to come from this band in the not so distant future. 

A Beginers Guide To Ska

I personally think Ska is one of the most important of all music genres (partially because I love it). As a genre it is completely multi-cultural and responsible for a change in mindsets within music. Ska has developed over the past 30 years moving from the slow reggae style of the Skatalites and other Jamaican Ska bands, to the Specials, Bad Manners and Madness who were at the fore front of the UK scene in the 70’s and 80’s, to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones developed the Skacore/Ska Punk sound paving the way for the next generation of Less Than Jake, Rancid and Mad Caddies in the USA and Capdown, Adequate 7, Howards Alias in the UK.

As far as looking into Ska with an eleven year old girl in mind there are 2 bands that were essential in my love of Ska Less Than Jake and The Specials. Both are fantastic bands and offer very different styles but will ultimately inspire the listener.

To accompany this playlist I’m also going to make a copy Ska Is Dead from Household Name Records which is a sampler that covers all the bases. Unfortunately some tracks will have to be substituted as I do not want to face the wrath of my Mum when she hears bad language coming out of my sisters room (or mouth).

As mentioned the play list will start at the beginning and work from there although not everything will be in chronological order as each track should move onto the next nicely. The Playlist will include all of the following:

Skatalites
The Toasters
Madness
The Specials
The Clash
Mighty Mighty Bostones
Less Than Jake
Mad Caddies
Voodoo Glow Skulls
Streetlight Manifesto
Rancid
NOFX
Chris Murray
Howards Alias
Capdown
Adequate 7
Dead 60’s
Buck O Nine
Sublime
Sonic Boom Six
Shootin’ Goon
Farse
The Pie Tasters

If you want to suggest tracks or artists that should be included please give me a shout.