Author’s note: This review was originally written to be an album of the year review for 2023. Unfortunately for me, I was unable to release it in a timely fashion. Rather than releasing an album of the year review well into the new year and making it weird, I decided I would instead hold onto it and release it to celebrate the 1-year anniversary of the album’s release. So Happy Anniversary, Common Sense Kid! Thanks for crafting my favorite album of 2023.
Album: A For Effort E For Attainment
Artist: Common Sense Kid
Released: March 28, 2023- Ska Punk International
This is the first full-length release by Common Sense Kid and clearly, he intended to come out of the gate swinging. A For Effort E for Attainment is an innovative and eclectic mix of electronic music, Ska, and Punk. Common Sense Kid pushes the sound envelope of what it means to be a Ska album and succeeds at creating something unique and enjoyable.
The Album features songs about relationships highs as found in “Here For The Long Haul” which is an upbeat guitar and horn driven song celebrating time spent with a significant other. It also features a song about relationship lows of “Blinded by a Black Hole” where synth-organ punctuates the story of a person finding freedom from an obsessive toxic relationship. As the name suggests, it implodes under its own weight. The song is endlessly catchy. The political message found in “Warning: Dystopia” is my jam. It starts with the POV of the song noticing a Doomsayer on the street holding a sign proclaiming the end is near. The song then goes on to list all the problems that can be seen as the POV walks around his town. Poor folks freezing during the winter, corrupt politicians, and the rich using detraction to fleece the pocket of the same poor folks are all mentioned as problems of dystopia. The last lyrics of the song deliver a twist ending that seems to suggest, that you have to do something to stop this. The twist is also delivered in a deep Boris Karloff like voice that adds a chilling weight to the message that is frankly awesome. “Let’s Press Reset” is another politically themed song that is more of a sorrowful retrospective of our world’s current problems. It proposes the question that maybe it’s better to start over again. The thing that really sets this song apart from others on the album for me is its clever use of archival recordings of historic radio broadcasts that perfectly coalesce with the lyrics and somber vibes of the music; in a sense saying these are the steps that took us here.
This album really offers something for everyone including a flat-out banger techno bop “What is this Techno Stuff” and more songs about guitar maintenance than you would typically expect to find on the average LP release. It is a must listen in my book. I wait on bated breath to see what the future holds for Common Sense Kid. His music is upbeat, catchy, and pushes the cutting edge of modern Ska forward. His lyrics are down to earth, insightful, and in most cases hopeful. A For Effort, E for Attainment is frankly everything I want in an album.
This review was originally posted on March 28, 2023 on the former LFDH substack.
