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Tag: Ska

  • Talk Is Killing Me by Half Past Two

    Talk Is Killing Me by Half Past Two

    Album: Talk Is Killing Me

    Artist: Half Past Two

    Release: April 19, 2024; Bad Time Records

                    When it comes to ska southern California was a powerhouse in the third wave, producing many iconic bands of the era. Hailing from Orange County and joining Bad Times Records for their recent release “Talk is Killing me”, Half Past Two proves that they are locked in and prepared to carry on the tradition into the New Tone Era. 

                    This album has a little something for every type of music lover. “In My Head” is a poppy rock jam. “I Don’t Dream Anymore” has a really amazing classic ska vibe that I dig. By far the most stand out song on the album for me is “Barrier For Entry”. It is everything that I would expect from a New Tone Band. It’s upbeat and catchy. The lyrics are politically meaningful in a very approachable way. The majority of the song sets up the premise that the world is constructed in a way that isn’t working for most people. It informs listeners that strength can be found within their communities. Then, with about a minute left in the song, the horns come in hard, and you just know they are building up to something important. That is when Tara Hahn drops the line “When something can’t be fixed, the question is: What do we build instead?” Let me tell you friends, that is the kind of call to action that a political song like this really needs. It leaves listeners feeling empowered and optimistic enough to make change. If it isn’t clear by now, this is my favorite song on the album. “Our Playlist” is another stand out song that really hits me in the feels. It’s an acoustic duet between Tara Hahn and Scott Klopfenstein. It has got a lot of sorrow and loss packed into Tara’s vocal performance. Scott’s feature here is also really good and if I am being honest, really makes me rethink my general dislike of Reel Big Fish. There is also an instrument that plays throughout the background of the song. A person that is musically smarter than me, with a better ear, has told me that it is probably slide guitar with a heavy delay and reverb, but it is hard to say for sure. Regardless of what it is, it is very cool, and the song would be lesser without it. I feel like the chances are high that most post pandemic albums will have at least one pandemic song. Is “Isolated Days” that song for this album? I can’t say for sure, but I’d put money on it if I was the betting type. It is a cool take on a pandemic song because its short and upbeat; basically, everything the pandemic wasn’t while it was happening. The song is also chaotic, a little frantic, and definitely shorter than you think it should have been. Which also happens to be everything that the pandemic feels like now in retrospect.

    The verdict is in. “Talk is Killing Me” definitely kills it in every way that matters.  The album offers songs that run the gamut of life’s ups and downs. It’s well composed and performed and everything I hope for in a Ska album. A fantastic addition to the New Tone song book.  

    This review was originally posted on April 26, 2024 on the former LFDH substack.

    If you like the album I reviewed here and want to support the artist as well as this blog please consider picking up the album via this affiliate link—> Purchase Talk is Killing Me by Half Past Two digitally via Amazon Music

  • A for Effort E for Attainment By Common Sense Kid

    A for Effort E for Attainment By Common Sense Kid

    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.

    If you like the album I reviewed here and want to support the artist as well as this blog please consider picking up the album via this affiliate link—> Purchase A Effort E for Attainment by Common Sense Kid digitally via Amazon Music