Duff Review: No Sports "Twang!"

Black Butcher Records
(Available in the US through Jump Up)
CD/LP
2021

(Review by Steve Shafer)

For the few, proud, and brave (and ska-starved) American ska fans keeping the faith in the late '80s/early '90s, the German ska scene was a marvel to behold, even at a distance. The records from The Busters, No Sports, The Frits, El Bosso und die Ping Pongs (which yielded Dr. Ring Ding when they were done), Skaos, The Braces, The Butlers, Blechreiz (sound it out), and more (see the comp It's a Skandal) that managed to find their way to the US via Unicorn Records mailorder or specialist record shop import bins (like Bleeker Bob's) were extraordinarily good. 

No Sports' 1989 debut album King Ska--crammed full of hyper-charged, slightly demented 2 Tone ska songs about trying to get by in a mad world--was one of the finest releases of that era, and its follow-up 1990 EP Stay Rude Stay Rebel (the title track is an anti-racist/anti-fascist anthem for the ages--still applicable today!) was equally as essential (read my review of its recent reissue here; Black Butcher also reissued King Ska, too). 1992's $uccessfools had some amazing songs on it ("Summer," "Five," "Radio," and "Crazy Girl"), but overall, the album wasn't as much of a knock-out as their debut (maybe there were too many downbeat songs?).

I lost No Sports' thread for the remainder of the '90s (apparently they expanded their sonic palate to include non-ska sounds and released No Rules in 1994 and Riddim Roots An' Culture in 1998)--and they broke up in 2002. A version of the band reformed in 2005 as Nu Sports, but then officially reformed as No Sports in 2015. Twang! is No Sports' first new album since the late '90s and it's a very good one.

Like much of King Ska, there is a strong contrarian and absurdist streak running through Twang! The super catchy "Looting" is silly take on the 1960s rude boy record ("We're looting and we're shooting/We're hooting and we're footing/We're faking and we're taking...In shanty town it's all okay/You'd better stand out of my way/And call the police!"). The single off the album should be "Maybe," which swipes The Ethiopians' "Train to Skaville" riff plus a Madness lyric, and is about not caring what anyone thinks about you or what you do, since we don't have enough time in our lives to waste on all that. King Kong returns for a cameo in "The Sacrifice," a dream (or is it?) about the animal world passing judgment on humanity for its tremendous cruelty and abuse of all things great and small--and someone has to answer for all our crimes. 

Several of these tracks were clearly written in response to the pandemic. The upbeat and encouraging "No Coincidence" speaks to the "Groundhog Day"-like malaise everyone's feeling stuck in ("Don't give in to your sorrow/Don't give in to you pain/You think there is no tomorrow/And everything is in vain/See the world keeps on turning/Turns around just for you/Keep your passion burning/And I keep burning for you"). And there's nothing like a deadly worldwide plague to make you realize that "Tempus Fugit" (Latin for 'time flies'), we all have an expiration date: "Every minute, every hour/Kronos offers us the chance/So we better use the power/Live life bright and full of prance."

If you loved No Sports back in the day, Twang! doesn't disappoint. And if you like 2 Tone/modern ska but don't know the band, you should grab a copy of this and King Ska as well.

+ + + +

The Porkers: This is The Porkers

Sound System
2007

The Porkers first came to the attention of the global ska scene in 1989 when they appeared on the Ska for Ska's Sake compilation (on Link Records), though they were then known by the naughty moniker The Pork Hunts (say it quickly a few times and you'll be in on the joke)--something that became a bit of impediment with club owners, so they switched to The Porkers (which is kind of a double entendre itself). Since then, The Porkers have persevered at perfecting their super hi-NRG, turn-it-up-to-eleven brand of ska, fueled by meaty doses of punk, rock, and metal, and placing them in the category of such hyphenated ska bands as Fishbone (ska-rock-funk-metal-kitchen sink), Skankin' Pickle (ska-funk-rasta-punk), and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (ska-core). (Here is where I cop to not being a huge fan of ska-core, so buyer beware.) The band is big in its native Australia (they've played stadium tours with No Doubt, Rancid, etc.) and has made significant inroads in the USA, including two albums released on Moon (Grunt in 1995 and Hot Dog Daiquiri in 1998) and a coveted spot on the 1999 Vans Warped Tour. Yet, after the collapse of the US ska scene at the turn of the century, the band seemed to fall off the US ska radar scope--so it's good to find them still kicking and in such terrific shape all these years later.

The release of This is The Porkers--which marked the band's twentieth anniversary--serves as a decent introduction to the band (or reminds one of their proper place in the ska pantheon), as about half of the tracks are some of The Porkers' top-shelf (and re-mastered) songs from Hot Dog Daiquiri, Time Will Tell (2000), and Now Hear This (2004). Of the new material, the stand-out cuts include the Highlife-tinged "Sangria" ("You're sweet, and so fruity/And you prove so good for I"); "Dread Man Walking," a reggae-ish stomp which ponders the back story of one of the zombie-like homeless men roaming the streets of their hometown; "Deep Vein Trombosis," a hard-driving, horn-heavy, post-2 Tone instrumental that wouldn't be out of place on No Sports' King Ska album; and the straight-up and almost sedate jazzy ska of "Waiting for Us."

While I was familiar with some of the band's pre-Y2K songs ("Aporkalypso," "Skankin' Carpark Blues"), I'm pleased to now be acquainted with the excellent, Fishbone-esque "Too Big for Your Boots" and the bold, horn-filled "Swinging Like Tiger Woods" (if you didn't know this was The Porkers, you'd swear it was a Dub 56-era Toasters song)--with the boastful lyric "I'm not content to be number one, but the best that's ever been!/And now it's time for me to come up with the goods/So I'm swinging like Tiger Woods!"

The Porkers aren't out to change the world--look elsewhere for your dose of righteous social commentary--but they do know how to write catchy melodies and play the hell out of them in order to make you dance.

The Duff Guide to Ska Grade: B+ (or an A- if you dig ska-core)




The Porkers
"Perfect Teeth"
From Hot Dog Daiquiri