Our Newest Album Ever

This Denver-based crew brought something different to the third wave ska revival: Christian lyrics. (I saw them on a package tour once and it was a bit startling to hear them introduce a song by saying “This one is about the Book of Ezekiel.”) Otherwise, their early work offers a pretty typical sound for the time: frenetic backbeats, tight horns, distorted guitars, punky tempos. However, one thing set them apart from much of the competition: even on this, their second album, you can tell that they’re operating at a more advanced musical level. Listen to the subtle key changes and the complexity of the horn parts on “Where Is Micah?”. Notice also how crisply they negotiate those headlong tempos, and the good humor with which they deliver their explicitly religious messages. Exhausting but fun and cheerful, this album is one of the best products of a period when ska-punk albums were being released at a rate of something like ten per week.