The Interrupters are an American ska punk band that formed in 2011. Fight The Good Fight (FTGF) is their third album, which was released in 2018, two years after Say It Out Loud.
Title Holder starts off fitting the bill perfectly as an opener catchy. The ska groove is solid, the chord progression adds some texture and the lyrics in verses are nicely rousing. But then the chorus is a bit of a fizzer and somehow the song wears out its welcome towards the end.
In fact, the lyrics a a highlight throughout the album, offering bucketloads of raw emotion and strong visuals. Amongst other things, they lift up the otherwise generic pop-punk ditty So Wrong generic pop-punk ditty into a memorable experience and turn the musically clunky Room With a View into a wonderfully emotive ode to a lost friend. My favourite story on the album is Gave You Everything, which also features grunty verses and a brilliant singalong chorus. A lot of breakup songs feel defeatist to me, so I really enjoy this feelgood energy juxtaposing a bitter tale.
Leap of Faith has strong The Slackers vibes for me (maybe it's the rim shots? or the trombone?). In other words, it's a perfect mix of quirkiness with a solid rocksteady groove. It injects some variety into the album and is a great song in its own right. At the other end of the sophistication scale, Got Each Other is a generic punk-rock ditty; fun but forgettable.
As the exception that proves the rule, Outrage features a wonderfully catchy pop-punk chorus. But the lyrical subject matter is the sad state current media and online discourse... and I listen to ska to get away from that stuff...
Thanks to infectious ska grooves, inspiring lyrics and singalong choruses, She's Kerosene, Broken World, Rumours & Gossip and Be Gone are all heaps fun. I don't have much interesting to say about them, but that shouldn't diminish their virtue whatsoever. One point of interest is that I really dig the half-time breakdown in the bridge and final chorus of She's Kerosene. This song also features subtle backing keyboard and vocals, which work a treat.
Favourite songs
She's Kerosene, Leap of Faith, Broken World, Gave You Everything, Rumours & Gossip, Be Gone, Room With a View
Final thoughts
One might ponder how The Interrupters have developed their artform since their debut album? Well, perhaps some of the rough edges have been smoothed over, but it's mostly another dose of fun ska-punk times. Which suits me to a tee.
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