Let's start with a quick comment on the audio quality: thin horns, instruments smeared together, lack of any sense of envelopment... it's terrible, in almost every way possible. To enjoy this CD, one must be able to ignore the sound and focus on the music.
First up are The Knockabouts, whose style often reminds me of The Pietasters, which is a very good thing. Unfortunately, many songs also reminds me of early No Doubt, in that the composition is a mish-mash of too many contrasting ideas awkwardly thrown together. Offender and Three Piece Suit feature great verses, but the contrasting choruses are a letdown.
It all comes together nicely for City Lights. The consistent feel throughout the song and appropriate chorus, makes for great ska listening.
The Vaginals bring more punk into the mix. At times it feels like a punk self-parody, although perhaps this is due to the woeful recording quality. Our Forum (perhaps actually called "Knockdown", despite the track list) is a fantastic punk song. The riffs are all simple yet powerful, the composition very good and the ska sections provide nice contrast. The chorus is the highlight of the song- brimming with energy and fist-pumping emotion.
City Runs Deep is very nearly a cover of Buck-o-nine's "My Town". But it's very well executed, so that's fine by me. Continuing the pseudo-covers, The Police Don't Like You screams The Porkers' "Skankin Carpark Blues" at times but it's a bit too frenetic and the instrumental breakdown all over the shop.
Party Reggae lives up to the promise of its title: a great feelgood ska track.
Back in the day, I found The Vaginals to be all aggression and lacking in musical substance. But nowadays I'm quite digging their half of this CD. Perhaps I've de-matured over the years!
Favourite songs
City Lights, Our Forum, City Runs Deep, Party Reggae
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