This Are UK Ska: Vol. 4
Posted by jamie on Dec 23, 2011
Various Artists
This Are UK Ska, Vol.4 – Do the Dog, 2011
9th December, 2011
Jamie
This is really, really exciting: the return of Do the Dog’s This Are UK Ska series of compilations is a long time coming, but definitely well worth the wait.
In the space of one wonderful little disc, the twenty two years (twenty two!) of tireless devotion given to supporting the UK’s DIY bands get their just rewards: the list of contributors to this record reads like a who’s who of ska and ska-punk in the UK in 2011.
The disc itself is, musically speaking, as diverse and exciting as you’d expect. It’s appropriate, given the brief and deliberately open-minded mission statement on the DTD website:
“We love ska in all its colourful guises, be it old school, laid back Jamaican style ska, bouncy 2-tone ska vibes, upbeat modern ska/pop or thunderous ska/punk!”
Given the enthusiasm with which DTD embrace new and different kinds of music and the rude health in which we find our scene, the potential was always there for a compilation this broad, this exciting and of such excellent quality.
To have pulled it all together, though, is still no small achievement. It’s excellent from start to finish, with scorching tracks from some of the scene’s exciting new talent mixing it with the more established names.
Of course, you’ll get to hear new tracks from some of the bands they’ve been supporting for years: alongside the sadly defunct Smoke Like a Fish, there’s also Do the Dog favourites, Rebelation, Drewvis and Cartoon Violence. The thing is, there are also exciting contributions from a new generation of great UK bands: keep an eye out for Miacca’s catchy Would You Like Me To Be the Cat? (unless you’re George Galloway), Copasetics’ sinister-yet-excellent Phantom Signals and the incendiary Wilsonator from John Player Specials. Then, fall in love with Breadchasers’ brilliant epic prog-ska-rock skankalong Time to Stop. It’s relatively light-hearted for the band, but fits perfectly on this compilation.
There’s so much here, and it’s all so different, so interesting and so enjoyable, that I could easily sit and type about it all day. Every track is a highlight.
This Are UK Ska Volume 4 is probably the most enjoyable so far, neatly showcasing a wide variety of established and up-and-coming UK acts. A perfect snapshot of where the scene is in 2011, it also highlights a few names to look out for in years to come.
Given that this was the label who first brought us Dirty Revolution, Catch-it Kebabs and the Skints, perhaps we were right to expect a lot from this disc. It doesn’t disappoint one bit.
This Are UK Ska, No. 4 is available now from Do the Dog Music.
Copasetics: The Stark Comprehension of Life in the Final State of Decay
Posted by jamie on Sep 22, 2011
Copasetics
The Stark Comprehension of
Life in the Final State of Decay – Self released, 2011
22nd September 2011
Jamie
I’ve been a big fan of York’s Copasetics since their first EP hit the doormat last year. They had the songs back then, and clearly set their sights on a style: it’s ska-punk in a sense, but in practice the music more based around traditional or first-wave ska, and then performed with punk edge to it: edgy, unsatisfied and unashamed. All of that comes through in the tone, and the lyrics are definitely of punk and protest songs. When it all comes together, it makes for an excellent, if awkward listen: awkward because of the unflinching subject matter of the lyrics and the way that the music lays that right out in the open, but equally excellent for not having pulled any punches and for the quality of the songs and the way they’re performed.
Where Copasetics was charmingly lo-fi all around, this year’s offering, The Stark Comprehension of Life in the Final State of Decay has picked up where the last record left off: the themes are all similar, but this is a somewhat more sophisticated offering: the songs have evolved to become longer and more complex, almost progressive, and yet they’re delivered from the same thrillingly raw, straight up, punk perspective that we saw last time. Oh, and they’ve added Random Hand’s Robin Leitch as a guest on trombone for the recording of this EP.
Opener Phantom Signals builds slowly before kicking in to, and then out of, its haunting refrain: “I was just doing what everybody does”, which returns later in the song as “I hope you get fucked for the death that you deal”. That slow, sinister intro builds slowly in to the chorus which is then picked out with a guitar hook and a three-part vocal harmony, which reappears on You’re Humming Their Tune with, get this, a solo. It’s just a little one, but it’s a departure from the way that Copasetics positioned them musically closer to the no-nonsense attitude of punk at its ideological peak. Here there’s a drop-out where the vocals finish the song on their own.
I.C.W.D is initially quicker and choppier, a little more two-tone, but then drops to a similarly ominous tempo. Benj’s vocal is almost growled in places. Those few moments where that uneasiness is sustained after the tempo has slowed are perhaps the stand-out point of the record: eerily queasy in their music and with Benj’s vocal almost growling in its frustration before Suzy join on backing vocals and the initial melody returns and the song fades to a quiet close. 15th Generation Copies is the epic of the EP, where that prog influence is the most evident. Think Breadchasers and get them in to eerie dub like you get on Sublime remixes and then make them angry and you’re most of the way there. The song whispers in places and snarls in others. Here it’s the horn section that lead the song off in to its breakdown. The whole thing is spookily menacing, and superbly put together and performed: it’s like an angry epic prog/dub/punk/ska thing. It disappears all of a sudden, and then the whole record’s finished. This is a great little disc, though, and a step forward from 2010’s Copasetics. They were excellent already, but here they’ve clearly evolved, and developed that distinct sound in to something really exciting. Well worth a look.
The Stark Comprehension.. is available form the Copasetics webstore here.
Tracks:
Phantom Signals
You’re Humming Their Tune
I.C.W.D
15th Generation Copies
Copasetics: S/T EP
Posted by jamie on Oct 9, 2010
The Copasetics
Copasetics (self-released, 2010)
8th October 2010
Jamie
Copasetics are a five-piece punk/ska outfit from York. I hunted around for a bit more background than that, and found the Ronseal-esque “We’re Copasetics. We play ska. We have a self titled four track EP” on their site.
Fortunately, while their self-titled debut EP has been sitting in my in-tray, a couple of other e-zines have reviewed it. Unfortunately, New Pollution and Push to Fire don’t actually agree even on exactly when Copasetics played their first show, but we do know it was in the Spring of 2010. To have recorded and released an EP of four of their own songs by August means they’re doing pretty well, then, for sure.
The overall feeling of this disc great: edgy, raw, exciting ska/punk based mainly around short, sharp upstrokes and the horn section of trombone and trumpet. We understand, though, that Nico (trombone) has left the band since this CD was recorded. It’s a refreshingly no-frills DIY take on the punk/ska thing, gently reminiscent of the very early Fandangle or Duff Muffin material, when both bands went under those old names and played catchy little tunes in a similarly brisk, spiky, rough and ready style. Copasetics also do this very well indeed.
Having listened through the whole disc, the plaintive In a Rising Tide is perhaps a strange choice to open the EP, but with or without that hindsight it actually works well. We set off with some short, sharp little riffs from horns and snare drums before the song opens in to its verse, where Benji’s snotty lead sings over a catchy little ska guitar part. In a Rising Tide is an uneasy little song, but despite that it’s instantly sing-able: it’s got real angst in it, but it connects with you, and, besides that, it’s catchy; it’s got a trombone solo (yes, really), and it really rocks out towards the end. It’s 10.30am right now, and I’m sitting on a train and I can still feel the fury, so when I say they’re rocking out, I mean they’re really rocking out.
Firing Squad is a more obvious single: despite its title, it’s instantly happier, almost poppier, especially at the beginning. It’s moments like these that are evocative of the young Fandangle, for example, where songs are jammed with hooks, and hint, almost tease, about a desire to become really epic. Instead, again, the tempo drops. The vocal becomes hushed, almost spoken word, and the horns really sombre, before the guitars creep back in, slowly getting louder and louder, and the song takes off again, angrier this time. It’s really clever, this record, and keeps meandering off in unexpected directions. Think The Scrub, but a bit jazzcore like Duff Muffin, and angrier. Then, sometimes, speed it up and throw your head and arms around. That’s what Copasetics are.
Restless starts slowly, but is actually the quickest one on the EP. It’s got a bluesy, queasy breakdown crammed in as well, but for the most part it’s a peppy, high-tempo, guitar powered ska tune. A little like Date Rape, but with horns. The last song, Trends, is another gem. It’s got a melodica, and the vocal is different, the snotty, punky edge is gone and instead it’s softer, almost soulful. There’s a melodica. The song as a whole is slower, though the guitar part has a similar tempo to the other tunes. This is absolutely lush: it’s warm, rich, and sort of washes over you. One highlight is a reggae-style drop out, a group vocal over just guitars and hi-hats that gradually grows back in to the full band. The brass lines are also lovely. The song fades out nice and softly, and that’s the record done.
It’s a great little disc, this. I suppose, just like the band’s succinct little bio, it does exactly what is says on the tin: it shows exactly what they can do, which is a lot, and all squeezed in to four great little songs. And then that’s it: short, but very, very sweet, and packed with promise too.
Stand-out tracks*:
Firing Squad
Trends
*Yes, we normally pick four or five from an album. But there are only four songs here.
